What are the pros and cons of treating children with antipsychotic medications?
Medications can make a positive difference in successful cases, acting on symptoms right away to help the child reach key developmental phases and milestones such as learning in school, developing tentative independence from parents, being comfortable with peers, etc. However, these medications also can have serious side effects or they can stop working, in which case a doctor is pushed to increase the dose or add a second medication. And scientists don’t know what the consequences are with long-term use of these drugs. The concern is that psychiatric medications can have a very different impact in children than they have in adults. MORE: Comments from experts interviewed for FRONTLINE’s report — … Dr. David Axelson, head of Pittsburgh University’s bipolar clinic, discusses the complexities in treating a child with medications … Dr. Robert Temple of the FDA talks about some of the drugs’ serious side effects … Stanford University’s Dr. Kiki Chang explains the risks and benefits
