When he was a year and a half old, Kyle Warren started taking a daily antipsychotic drug. Over the years, he was diagnosed with autism, bipolar disorder, hyperactivity, insomnia, and oppositional defiant disorder, and put on more drugs each time. By the time he was 3, he was drooling and sedated. Today, he is off most of the drugs and doing fine.
More than 500,000 children are now taking antipsychotic drugs. A study recently found that the rate of antipsychotic drugs prescribe to privately insured 2 to 5 year olds had doubled between 2000 to 2007. Only 40 percent of them had received a proper mental health assessment.
The New York Times reports:
“... [M]any doctors say prescribing them for younger and younger children may pose grave risks to development of both their fast-growing brains and their bodies. Doctors can legally prescribe them for off-label use, including in preschoolers, even though research has not shown them to be safe or effective for children.”