Louis Theroux - America's Medicated Kids

[ShadeofViolet]

Anyone going to watch tonight?

As much as I find him annoying, I do always find his programmes eye-opening. I will be watching with interest as my DS2 has ASD and ADHD.

Will definitely be watching. I did a work placement in a school for children with ASD in America about 10 years ago, and was dumbfounded by the amount of kids on massive amounts of medication.

One of the jobs the children enjoyed doing was 'getting the meds' of a lunchtime- cue small child carrying a massive picnic basket of drugs back to the classroom for the rest of the class. And that was just the lunchtime dose

Some were so highly medicated they slept all day. It was really shocking. And really sad.

I really like Louis Theroux.

This is terrifying television... these poor children.

fascinating stuff

arf
get outa my face mum

mountain out of a molehill??

It seems to me that many of these "symptoms" are just moments of bad behaviour that have not been called into check at an early age.

Supernanny would have a field day!

6yos on anti-depressants - lord help the world when that generation is running the world!

Would anyone be walking away from that boy right now?

oh ffs
this is annoying me

does anyone else want to scream?

Totally agree with CaveMum. Am shocked by the drugs these kids are on! A 6 year old on anti-ds? WTF?

i turned it over, find it too depressing.

oh my god
these parents are deluded

Psychology has a lot to answer for.

the US isn't any great guide for life is it though, you only have to watch 'the hills' to know that

'when she's on medication she's my best friend'

Isn't it normal that girls of that age talk back to their parents, and argue with their friends?

Interesting that the big brother does not take meds.

Yes HUgh just normal aspergers as far as I can tell

yep looks like aspergers.

I too am thanking God that DS2 is growing up in the UK and is unmedicated.

i've missed it - what channel? i'll try to get it on demand.

i worked in the US on summer camp with a lot of kids who were medicated for their "normal" lives but left unmedicated for camp - parents thought it was fine at camp "because they could run around" but didn't really realise that two counsellors to 18 kids wasn't exactly the best when four of those kids were having a 'ritalin break'.

the biggest problem in my experience was the kids who said 'you can't make me behave i'm crazy, my doctor says so'

God, how sad. When the mum thought that because Louis mentioned Aspergers it showed that the meds were working.