I was recently talking with a doctor concerning the number of children in foster care that are on medications with the intent of bringing their behaviors down to a level so placement would have a greater chance of not being disrupted. The subject of these medications reducing the levels of testosterone in male children came up because of a male foster child that had been on a drug cocktail for approximately 10 years which had caused him to develop to a point that most all of his actions were effeminate.
Researching this further, I went looking for articles that would bring validity to my theory that the drugs that this young man was on caused his body to stop producing testosterone. In “Melmed: Williams Textbook of Endocrinology, 12th edition” chapter 10, causes of secondary hypogonadism (a symptom in which the body does not produce enough testosterone) is discussed and my concerns were realized. Additionally, “hyperprolactinaemia,” the presence of abnormally high levels of prolactin, associated with lactation and breast development in pregnancy, is a common side effect of anti psychotic drugs such as Risperidone and Adderall. Usage can also result in infertility and erectile dysfunction in men.
We understand that these drugs could harm livers, kidneys, and other vital organs of children. What other damage is being done that no one is talking about? The young man that had been on the drug cocktail for ten years was taken off of all medication. Within one month he was talking about how clear his mind was. In a month and a half my wife and I were noticing a distinct change in the way that he acted and reacted to any given situation.
Before he was taken off of the medication he would well up with tears and cry any time he was confronted with a discipline situation, or something that made him feel like he wasn’t being treated fairly. Following the removal of the medication, this young man began to be able to work with others without him balling up in a flash flood of tears. As each day goes by he continues to improve and become stronger, which has been an incredible boost for his self-esteem. When this young man first came into our home he didn’t feel good about himself and who he was. He is now transforming daily into a young man, with an ever growing feeling of self-worth.
We have a growing population of children that are being drugged to a state where they spend most of their waking hours in a drug induced stupor. There are children out there whose brain may have a chemical imbalance and need medication to allow them to function. But this should be an exception to the rule, not the rule. We have grown into a society that wants a pill to take care of everything instead of working with children and parenting our children to bring about a positive outcome through nurturing and discipline.
Children are force fed these medications without their knowledge of the side effects, without them understanding the long term manifestations of these drugs. They are too young and trusting to understand that these organ damaging drugs are being administered without regard for their well-being. And by the time they are old enough to understand, it may be too late to recover from the consequences to their bodies.
It has been my experience over the last ten years that behavior modification through medication doesn’t work. Medication is used only because it’s easier for the professional to administer the drugs rather than work with the parent or caregiver on strategies for the behaviorally challenged child. Behavior changes come from hard work not only on the child’s side, but also the caregivers. How can anyone reason with a child or bring about any degree of understanding when the child is in a drug induce stupor? Many children on these drug cocktails are simply existing. They are not growing to what their full potential could be.
So as parents we need to ask our professionals who seek to medicate behaviors instead of seeking out behavioral change by teaching positive choices and behavioral modification through discipline: how are these drugs affecting children and their bodies? What isn’t being said needs to be talked about and addressed openly.
Are these drugs taking away aggression by reducing the children taking these drugs to a state where they wont be able to reproduce as adults? If that is so, what happens when the child is no longer in the system and cannot afford to purchase these drugs, and the anger and hurt that is still inside them has never been addressed? Have there been adequate studies concerning the long term effects of these drugs? We need to understand the possible side effects of reducing testosterone levels to an extremely low level, if not completely inhibiting the body’s ability to produce testosterone all together. Are we medically castrating our children? We need to fight to take care of these children—mind, body and spirit.
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