20/20 tonight on medicating kids in foster care....ABC? 9 central time

[buddy]

Dyan Sawyer is doing a show on kids in foster care receiving "mind altering' medications.

I do get a little defensive when people say medications are not good for kids, and that parents just want to take the easy way out... REALLLLLY? THis is not the easy way out!

But I know that there ARE tons of kids who are medicated who have no business being on them. I think I'll check it out.

 

[EmJay]

Shows like that make my blood boil....

 

[klmno]

I think there's truth on both sides- many kids are medicated when they don't need to be but on the other hand, many are going untreated adequately. It's a shame that after all the stuff people did in the 70s to try to overcome really old fashioned thinking, we haven't come any further than this, as a society, in my humble opinion.

 

[klmno]

It's 9:00 here, I turned to ABC, 20/20 isn't on.

Wait...I just checked- it comes on at 10:00 on the east coast.

 

[Nancy]

Wait to see the program before you judge. I saw a preview of it the other day and was shocked at what they uncovered.

Nancy

 

[BusynMember]

I am watching 20/20 right now. I did foster care and I was appalled. I'm not anti-medication, but I'm not in favor of medicating children into a stupor, which often happens at least in foster care. And then the child is considered "better" because he is too drugged to act out or even think.

 

[buddy]

Well, I hadn't considered that the foster family would have to go along with it since they are not in charge of those decisions. How great was it that the family paid for a private psychiatrist? Thank heaven.

It is frustrating and I have to say, Q came to me at 3 already on Clonidine along with is seizure medication (tegretol at the time). He started Ritalin at 4 and it was night and day difference, he was able to sit in his class for the first time. They didn't care where he sat, he always listened.... from afar as much as he could. But to sit with kids in a circle, that was cool. He started improving language, motor skills, etc. Total change so I can see that some kids need a medication for something....but those kids were amazing how they had been on so many.

 

[Nancy]

Yes 13 medications for one child is just wrong. And to only see that child for five minutes and prescribe those medications is criminal. It reminds me of the psychiatrist my difficult child saw when she was in this outpatient treatment center for two days until we pulled her out. He saw her for five minutes and prescribed both an antidepressant and a sleeping pill although she was drinking every night until 4 am and he should have known that because that's why she was in the program.

Nancy

 

[DDD]

I only got to watch a few minutes but it didn't surprise me. The one and only office in our entire county who accepted Medicaid literally ran all the kids thru asap because there were so many kids and so few medical professionals. Most (absolutely not all, by any means) of the parents were not knowledgeable or educated. They trusted the Doctor's knew best. difficult child#2 had Medicaid and I used the facility for awhile.
It didn't take long to realize I had to find higher quality care. on the other hand...most of the parents don't have that option due to finances. Alot of money has to come out of your pocket to get the right help. Really, really, sad. DDD

 

[buddy]

Q, while in foster care, went to the neurologist they all used thru the county. He was prescribed seizure medications for starting seizures at 1 and his developmental milestones took a turn, plus he started head banging etc. He never did any testing. Just prescribed seizure medications and clonidine for aggression. It took over a year and the school finally helped the foster mom get through to social services and they authorized a different neurologist at Rainbow Babies hospital. That guy sent him for a CAT scan THAT appointment, no passing go, went in an ambulance right there, (his head was huge by the way, now perfect shape and totally normal but was the size of an 8 yr old child at age 2) they didn't have the right folks so sent him again, ALONE, in ambulance for surgery. These kids are truly failed.

His foster mom told them over and over, this is not just attachment struggles from losing mom and dad, he is dying. she was right. She had done this and even adopted a difficult child herself, for over 30 years. They didn't listen.

 

[KTMom91]

I taped it but haven't watched it yet. I did watch World News and saw the previews, so I'm really interested to see what the show has to say.