Are we over-medicating our children?

[CALM MUSIC]

At the Child Mind Institute, we do not take any funds from the pharmaceutical industry or from the liquor industry or cigarettes or guns.

But unlike every other institution, we also don't let pharmaceutical representatives come on our grounds.

And that's because the public is very distrusting of the concept of children

taking psychiatric medication. But the data is pretty evident that, overwhelmingly, we

see that most kids who have these psychiatric disorders are not getting treated. And yet, we see a dramatic increase

in the use of these medications, particularly for kids with inattention and distractibility.

And so I think we have a problem. The problem is, who's making the diagnosis and who's getting the medicine?

An interesting fact that has recently come up is that we instituted a new law called Leave no Child Behind.

And it turns out that keeping kids in school is, financially, very good for those schools

and for those states, because they'll get more funds for education. And one of the things that has recently come up

is that when you start looking at the differences geographically in the country as to who gets medicine and who doesn't, you are five times more likely to get

a psychostimulant if you're a boy in Arkansas than if you're a boy in Nevada.

And it turns out that there aren't more child psychiatrists in Nevada or Arkansas. They have about the same amount.

It really turns out to be a difference in referral patterns and attitude of sending those kids to pediatricians who

seem to be comfortable with the use of those medicines for disruptive behavior in a class. Being disruptive or inattentive in class

doesn't define or make the diagnosis of ADHD. ADHD is made by interviewing teachers, getting a history

that a child has their symptoms, and it has to be cross-situational. It's not just in school. But the kid has to show you those symptoms

at home or at play as well. So like any good diagnosis, it takes time and effort.

And it's not a seven-minute intervention that, all of a sudden, you can just make the diagnosis.