Reaction
It is very disconcerting to watch children struggle in life owing to two major aspects. One of the reasons is being misdiagnosis, whereas the other grave concern is the medication of a child for some form of presumed illness. At the beginning of the documentary, one can observe how jubilant and happy Jacob was as a child at 3 years of age (PBS, 2008). After his teachers, however, constantly insisted that he be put on some form of medication owing to his hyperactive nature, his parents unwillingly obliged and took him to a doctor. He was then diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and placed on medication. Later on, however, his mood appeared to change and upon taking him to another doctor, he was readily diagnosed with bipolar disorder, an ailment which was initially perceived to occur among the adults only. His sudden moodiness led to a point where the parents had to put him off all medication. This is a definitive situation which shows the extent to which medicating children can end up affecting them.
Diagnosis
I am highly against the idea that young children should be diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder, at such a young age. Bipolar, formally called Manic depression is a disease initially diagnosed in adults alone (PBS, 2008, 6.57). Some child psychiatrists at Massachusetts General Hospital, nevertheless, came up with child bipolar disorder after a series of studies, and made a proclamation that a majority of children with ADHD were actually misdiagnosed and instead met criteria for bipolar disorder (PBS, 2008, 7.10-7.21). This led them to publish an article in 1996 indicating that 23% of ADHD children also had child bipolar leading to a 4000 percent increase in new diagnosis of child bipolar cases (PBS, 2008, 7.23-8.33). This is a clear indication that most of the physicians were acting under impulse and also serves to indicate that a large number of children were to be misdiagnosed leading them to consume unnecessary medication that was bound to impact on them. It ultimately resulted to medication problems that were not previously available.
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Medication
Based on the observations made, it would be highly inappropriate for parents to medicate their children with psychotropic drugs, given the potential for serious side effects. Instead, alternative treatment approaches, for instance, behavioral therapy are better for children with behavioral problems. This is based on the idea that the young people are being given medication that has not yet been tested in children (PBS, 2008, 9.20). Some of the drugs being given to bipolar children such as Risperdal, have potentially harmful side effects. For instance, it may end up leading a child`s brain not to register that they are supposed to stop eating since they are satisfied, thus resulting in incessant eating (PBS, 2008, 10.56-11.00). As a result, it ends up leading such a child to become diabetic later on in life. Moreover, the medications also induce repetitiveness in the child.
Decision
If faced with such a decision as a parent, I would take an entirely different approach to address the situation. This would occur where medication would not be utilized, meaning that I would instead wait until the child develops into a young adult, after which, if the symptoms persist, I could probably consider medication as an option. Majority of the children are diagnosed by pediatricians who are less qualified to understand behaviors that would lead one to be diagnosed with bipolar. Moreover, such medication has the potential of making a child suicidal (30.0). I would, however, approve only that treatment which has already proven to be successful and has been tested. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to decide which medication to give to the child. Instead, the best option to take in such an event is the behavioral treatment approach.
Reference
PBS (2008). The Medicated Child [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17awuw
