Posts Tagged ‘Child psychiatrist’

We Are Looking at the Anorexia Generation

December 30, 2011

I thought we had enough awareness of anorexia and such diseases long ago to have made inroads in the prevention of this debilitating and tragic condition. It seems unacceptable that rates of anorexia in children have risen. I think that it is partially due to the perception that if you look a certain way you feel a certain way. Weight must only ever be seen to be an issue of health when it comes to children. It saddens me that children who have diverse skills and talents feel worthless because they don’t match up to the often unattainable physical attributes flaunted by the media.

KIDS should not have a care in the world – particularly about how skinny they look. But a shocking report yesterday revealed hundreds of children are being treated in hospitals for anorexia every year.

Two six-year-olds and four seven-year-olds were referred for life-saving care in one area alone. Horrifyingly, one child who got help was just three.

Health bosses yesterday warned the problem was the tip of the iceberg and only one in five young sufferers are having treatment. They also highlighted the growing pressures on children to be skinny, particularly from the celebrities they idolise.

Child psychiatrist Dr Malcolm Bourne said: “I estimate we only deal with 20% of the children who suffer from eating disorders. Long term eating disorders have the worst death rates in child mental health.

“Around 5% die from them eventually, people can be very resistant to treatment. There is no straight forward fix.”

Dr Dasha Nicholls, an adolescent expert, added: “For a minority of children it may be the start of a severe and enduring illness, with death rates comparable to some forms of leukaemia.”

The report yesterday showed 125 children under 18 were treated for anorexia or bulimia by the East Lancashire Child and Adolescent Service since 2007. The majority of those – 109 – were aged 12 to 16.

But many were under 10 including the three-year-old, who was helped earlier this year. Overall, 102 girls and 23 boys were treated by the service.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Body Image | 2 Comments »

Experts: Medicate Your ADHD Kid or We’ll Report You To The Authorities

November 21, 2011

I suppose it was only a matter of time.  The writing was on the wall earlier this year when experts were outraged when a mother, Christie Haskel, claimed that coffee had cured her son of ADHD.  The medical experts came out in force against Ms Haskel.  How can this woman treat her child with something other than a drug with pharmacological effects that resemble closely those of cocaine and amphetamines?  And coffee? That could damage the poor child’s health!

Now it seems they have taken their pro-drug, anti-choice platform a further step into the ultra-extreme. Now they are threatening parents – take the drugs or you’ll be reported:

EXPERTS have warned that parents who don’t medicate children with ADHD could be referred to child protection authorities under controversial draft guidelines being considered by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

The practice points, to guide doctors who treat the disorder, were drawn up by an NHMRC expert working group to address community concern over the use of stimulant medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They state: “Consideration should be given to the ability of the child/adolescent and their caregivers to implement strategies. As with any medical intervention, the inability of parents to implement strategies may raise child protection concerns.”

Child psychiatrist and Monash University lecturer George Halasz says the situation should not be seen as unique to ADHD and parents who fail to manage serious conditions such as their child’s asthma or diabetes could also be considered to be failing their duty as a parent.

Dr Halasz said the new guidelines were a step in the right direction because they asked doctors to first try to find other explanations for a child’s behaviour before they diagnosed ADHD.

Firstly there is a gulf of difference between a parent’s decision not to administer ADHD drugs and a decision not to treat a child for asthma and diabetes. Secondly, this move does not promote trying alternate methods but reinforces what many suspect; that Ritalin and it’s type have become a one-stop fix for a condition yet to be fully proven.

The British Psychological Society said in a 1997 report that physicians and psychiatrists should not follow the American example of applying medical labels to such a wide variety of attention-related disorders: “The idea that children who don’t attend or who don’t sit still in school have a mental disorder is not entertained by most British clinicians.”

Another problem I have, is how can you even consider reporting parents for not giving their children a drug that has the following possible side-effects:

How about we report lazy doctor to the authorities who prescribe this drug without due process? How about we report bullying tactics by so-called experts? How about we let parents decide for themselves what is in the best interests of their children?

How about you think about the consequences of drugging such a large proportion of our young?

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Children and Medication | 3 Comments »