By JULIE HOWARD
Julie@newsroom.byu.edu
Many parents use rewards and consequences to teach children good behavior, but for Barbara Zabriskie, managing her son takes more than a few M & M's to make him sit still.
Zabriskie, a family advocate at Liaisons for Individuals Needing Coordinated Services, said both her sons have been taking psychiatric drugs to control symptoms of autism and bi-polar disorder since they were six years old.
Her oldest son went through a complex process of trying to find the right medications and behavior therapy to control his symptoms, she said.
Although Zabriskie's children were fully evaluated before receiving medication, experts say some children are prescribed medication too quickly for their behavioral disorders.
Recent studies show that the number of children under four years old taking stimulants such as Ritalin tripled between 1991 to 1995, according to The Associated Press. Ritalin is commonly prescribed for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADD.
First Lady Hillary Clinton announced Monday a plan to reduce the number of children using psychiatric drugs. The plan proposes new warning labels and a national study on the affects of these drugs on children.
Diagnosis of ADD has increased in the United States from 5,000 cases in 1988 to 4.4 million cases in 1997, said Gawain Wells, a BYU psychology professor. In comparison, a study of eight European countries with a population similar to the United States showed 8,000 diagnosed cases of ADD in 1996.
These figures may indicate that ADD is diagnosed too often, and children who receive medication for behavioral disorders are not fully evaluated, Wells said.
'There are a huge number of children with ADD that are only treated with medication. They never see a counselor, and their parents never get any new parenting skills,' said Wells, who is also the director of the BYU Comprehensive Clinic.
Wells said the problem often begins with miscommunication.
'Often parents just go to the pediatrician and say, 'The teacher says he's ADHD.' Then, the pediatrician says 'Let's try him on Ritalin,'' said Wells.
Many pediatricians assume that if the medicine works, then the child has the condition the medication treats, Wells said.
However, in the case of Ritalin, if a child's concentration improves that doesn't mean the problem is solved.
'The reality is that normal people can concentrate better on Ritalin,' Wells said.
A full evaluation of a child's behavioral problems begins with a complete physical, mental, social and treatment history, said Joseph Yau, medical director of the Inpatient Unit of Behavioral Health Care at Primary Children's Hospital.
Psychiatrists then observe the child's interaction with others before making a diagnosis and formulating a treatment plan, Yau said.
Although many are concerned about the unknown effect of psychiatric drugs on a child's brain development, medication can be an appropriate part of the treatment process, Yau said.
'By using the right medication to help a child control behavior you are creating a more beneficial emotional environment for brain development.'
Almost 25 percent of all prescription medications available in the United States are labeled for children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Psychiatrists rely on adult studies to guide prescriptions for young patients.