Ke'onte, 12, tells Congress how he was drugged for 4 years in foster care | Mail Online:
Government report finds foster children are 13 times more likely to be heavily medicated
Ke'onte, 12, testifies to Congress he was drugged into a stupor as a foster child
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Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Sunday, December 4, 2011
VIDEO – ABC – DAY THREE – Mind-Altering Psych Drugs for a 7-Year-Old
VIDEO – ABC – DAY THREE – Mind-Altering Psych Drugs for a 7-Year-Old - Psych News:
ABC
Mind-Altering Psych Drugs for a 7-Year-Old
By JOSEPH DIAZ and CLAIRE WEINRAUB
Dec. 2, 2011
Not long ago, 7-year-old Brooke was on a medical regimen that might seem extreme, even for an adult: The 43-pound girl was prescribed multiple mind-altering psychotropic drugs.
Dealt a tough hand early in life — her birth mother had a history of drug dealing and prostitution — Brooke was prone to extreme tantrums and wild behavior. Her foster mother, Lisa Ward, says a Florida foster care agency instructed her to take the girl to a mental health clinic. The clinic prescribed anti-psychotic medication, often used to treat schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder.
“Within a few weeks, probably two, they decided that it wasn’t working. They needed to do something else,” Ward recalled. “At this point, she’s getting worse, she’s not getting any better.”
Brooke was given 10 different prescriptions in four months, with the clinic frequently increasing her doses.
As a foster mother, Ward felt she had no choice. She worried that the state would take Brooke away if she didn’t give the girl the medication.
“We were told to put our faith in the system and that’s what we did,” Ward said. “They kept saying she needs more medication.”
Foster children are medicated with psychotropic drugs up to 13 times more than other kids. Michael Piraino, the chief executive of the National CASA Association, a foster children’s advocacy group, said that, as a population, foster children tend to be more troubled than their peers.
“If you’ve been hurt the way these kids are, you or I would feel the same way,” he said.
But Piraino said helping the children is not about always trying “to change their brain chemistry.”
“When a doctor tells me that the drug is working, I would ask, ‘Who’s it working for? Is it working for the kid? Is it working for the caretaker? Is it working for the system? It only matters to me whether it’s working for the kid,” he said. “Frankly, we want the doctors and nurses who are prescribing these medicines to look at their behavior and think – and ask this question: ‘Are we doing something wrong here?’ And to the extent that we are, individually or collectively, let’s change that.”
Delaware Sen. Tom Carper held a congressional hearing Thursday, demanding changes in the foster care system.
“In my judgment, no children in this country should be taking at the same time five different kinds of psychotropic drugs,” he said. “None.”
A Different Kind of Medicine
Despite the increases in dosage, Brooke’s rages continued. Finally, Ward had enough — she decided to pay for the services of a private doctor, Dr. Luis Quinones. a psychiatrist.
Quinones was stunned by the pills Brooke was taking.
“The first thing we’ve got to think about: Is the medicine causing this?” he said. “There always has to be a high index of suspicion when we’re using these agents.”
Brooke is now being weaned off all her medication, and while she still has emotional challenges, she is learning to take advantage of a different kind of medicine.
“What’s another choice over a tantrum? What’s a good choice?” Ward recently asked her.
“To hug you,” Brooke replied.
Recently, there was a new reason for hugs — and it was a happy one: Ward adopted Brooke and her older sister, Kayla.
Besides being Brooke and Kayla’s mom, Ward also recently took on another role: fighting for all of Florida’s foster children.
© 2011 Psych News |
ABC
Mind-Altering Psych Drugs for a 7-Year-Old
By JOSEPH DIAZ and CLAIRE WEINRAUB
Dec. 2, 2011
Not long ago, 7-year-old Brooke was on a medical regimen that might seem extreme, even for an adult: The 43-pound girl was prescribed multiple mind-altering psychotropic drugs.
Dealt a tough hand early in life — her birth mother had a history of drug dealing and prostitution — Brooke was prone to extreme tantrums and wild behavior. Her foster mother, Lisa Ward, says a Florida foster care agency instructed her to take the girl to a mental health clinic. The clinic prescribed anti-psychotic medication, often used to treat schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder.
“Within a few weeks, probably two, they decided that it wasn’t working. They needed to do something else,” Ward recalled. “At this point, she’s getting worse, she’s not getting any better.”
Brooke was given 10 different prescriptions in four months, with the clinic frequently increasing her doses.
As a foster mother, Ward felt she had no choice. She worried that the state would take Brooke away if she didn’t give the girl the medication.
“We were told to put our faith in the system and that’s what we did,” Ward said. “They kept saying she needs more medication.”
Foster children are medicated with psychotropic drugs up to 13 times more than other kids. Michael Piraino, the chief executive of the National CASA Association, a foster children’s advocacy group, said that, as a population, foster children tend to be more troubled than their peers.
“If you’ve been hurt the way these kids are, you or I would feel the same way,” he said.
But Piraino said helping the children is not about always trying “to change their brain chemistry.”
“When a doctor tells me that the drug is working, I would ask, ‘Who’s it working for? Is it working for the kid? Is it working for the caretaker? Is it working for the system? It only matters to me whether it’s working for the kid,” he said. “Frankly, we want the doctors and nurses who are prescribing these medicines to look at their behavior and think – and ask this question: ‘Are we doing something wrong here?’ And to the extent that we are, individually or collectively, let’s change that.”
Delaware Sen. Tom Carper held a congressional hearing Thursday, demanding changes in the foster care system.
“In my judgment, no children in this country should be taking at the same time five different kinds of psychotropic drugs,” he said. “None.”
A Different Kind of Medicine
Despite the increases in dosage, Brooke’s rages continued. Finally, Ward had enough — she decided to pay for the services of a private doctor, Dr. Luis Quinones. a psychiatrist.
Quinones was stunned by the pills Brooke was taking.
“The first thing we’ve got to think about: Is the medicine causing this?” he said. “There always has to be a high index of suspicion when we’re using these agents.”
Brooke is now being weaned off all her medication, and while she still has emotional challenges, she is learning to take advantage of a different kind of medicine.
“What’s another choice over a tantrum? What’s a good choice?” Ward recently asked her.
“To hug you,” Brooke replied.
Recently, there was a new reason for hugs — and it was a happy one: Ward adopted Brooke and her older sister, Kayla.
Besides being Brooke and Kayla’s mom, Ward also recently took on another role: fighting for all of Florida’s foster children.
© 2011 Psych News |
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Sex-Ed Classes and the Rape of Our Children's Innocence (Part 2)
Sex-Ed Classes and the Rape of Our Children's Innocence (Part 2) - Page 1 - Michael Brown - Townhall Conservative:
As outrageous as it is to hear about the new sex-ed curriculum for New York City schools, beginning with middle schools, there are some school districts for which the program does not start early enough. And so, in June, 2010 the Provincetown, Massachusetts school board voted unanimously to begin distributing condoms to elementary school children upon the student’s request, beginning in first grade and without parental knowledge or consent. (What possible use could a 6-year-old have for a condom?)
As outrageous as it is to hear about the new sex-ed curriculum for New York City schools, beginning with middle schools, there are some school districts for which the program does not start early enough. And so, in June, 2010 the Provincetown, Massachusetts school board voted unanimously to begin distributing condoms to elementary school children upon the student’s request, beginning in first grade and without parental knowledge or consent. (What possible use could a 6-year-old have for a condom?)
Sex-Ed Classes and the Rape of Our Children's Innocence (Part 1)
Sex-Ed Classes and the Rape of Our Children's Innocence (Part 1) - Page 1 - Michael Brown - Townhall Conservative:
Did you hear about New York City’s comprehensive drug education program for all students in middle school and high school? The teachers inform the students that abstaining from drug use is best, but since it’s impossible to stop them from doing drugs, the teachers give out cards that list the most common drugs, explaining which are the most dangerous. They also distribute needles to kids who are involved in shooting drugs to help them avoid getting contaminated needles, thereby reducing their chances of contracting or passing on communicable diseases.
Did you hear about New York City’s comprehensive drug education program for all students in middle school and high school? The teachers inform the students that abstaining from drug use is best, but since it’s impossible to stop them from doing drugs, the teachers give out cards that list the most common drugs, explaining which are the most dangerous. They also distribute needles to kids who are involved in shooting drugs to help them avoid getting contaminated needles, thereby reducing their chances of contracting or passing on communicable diseases.
Foster Care Kids Overmedicated
Child Charity News: Foster Care Kids Overmedicated:
02/12/2011 - Children in foster care in several US states are being prescribed psychotropic drugs at rates more than 2-4 per cent higher than their counterparts who are not in foster care.
It is no new revelation that many children in the foster care system are some of society’s most vulnerable. But now, a new contention has been levelled against those responsible for the wellbeing of children in care: overmedication.
02/12/2011 - Children in foster care in several US states are being prescribed psychotropic drugs at rates more than 2-4 per cent higher than their counterparts who are not in foster care.
It is no new revelation that many children in the foster care system are some of society’s most vulnerable. But now, a new contention has been levelled against those responsible for the wellbeing of children in care: overmedication.
IAmA former Child Protective Services caseworker
IAmA former Child Protective Services caseworker. AMA : IAmA:
Some truth, mostly lies by a CPS Homewrecker/babystealer!
Some truth, mostly lies by a CPS Homewrecker/babystealer!
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