attention deficit disorder

The First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton and the Clinton Administration has proposed to increase focus and funding for research on the use of psychotropic medications in very young children. The recent reporting of stories in the news media documenting the increased use of psychotropic medications in children under five years old, for conditions such as ADD and depression, has appropriately raised concerns among parents, health care professionals, and legislators. Over the past two decades scientific …

…years, and how it should be used, needs to be determined on the basis of solid scientific and medical knowledge. Many experts caution that the usefulness of most of psychotropic medications for children has not been well documented. Moreover, those that appear to have beneficial effects also have unwanted side effects, ranging from just annoying to very serious. All such medication should be used as part of a comprehensive plan of treatment, with ongoing evaluation.