Newscast about overmedicated foster children in Texas
1 comment:
Anonymous
said...
Very upsetting, especially since, as foster parents, we learn about the side effects of these medications.
Our foster son is on medication for allergies only, but his previous foster home tried to label him hyperactive, violent, and cruel -- we see an active three year old who at his "worst" tries to carry around the dog and sometimes squeezes her too hard. This previous family wanted a calm, reserved (or in my mind, almost catatonic) child, and when Huckle didn't fit that bill, they labeled him a bad seed and said they wanted him out of their home unless he was medicated (they never thought to limit his sugar intake or take him to the park to run off his energy, of course). Thankfully, Huck's SW was shocked by their behavior and refused. The family chose to have him moved, and he ended up with us.
I might have a higher tolerance for little boys -- my brother was one of those little kids that you pray makes it through another day -- but nothing in Huck's current behavior warrants medication. There may be a day when it is warranted, but my husband and I stay away from prescriptions other than birth control, so we'll be a hard sell on psychotropic meds.
1 comment:
Very upsetting, especially since, as foster parents, we learn about the side effects of these medications.
Our foster son is on medication for allergies only, but his previous foster home tried to label him hyperactive, violent, and cruel -- we see an active three year old who at his "worst" tries to carry around the dog and sometimes squeezes her too hard. This previous family wanted a calm, reserved (or in my mind, almost catatonic) child, and when Huckle didn't fit that bill, they labeled him a bad seed and said they wanted him out of their home unless he was medicated (they never thought to limit his sugar intake or take him to the park to run off his energy, of course). Thankfully, Huck's SW was shocked by their behavior and refused. The family chose to have him moved, and he ended up with us.
I might have a higher tolerance for little boys -- my brother was one of those little kids that you pray makes it through another day -- but nothing in Huck's current behavior warrants medication. There may be a day when it is warranted, but my husband and I stay away from prescriptions other than birth control, so we'll be a hard sell on psychotropic meds.
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