Children's Health Defense By
Critics called for an outright ban on chemical restraints in mental health facilities after a study showed a steep rise in the number of children being subjected to them. They cited the lack of informed consent and a culture of medicalization that leads to labeling, misdiagnosis and over-prescribing of drugs that can cause suicidal and homicidal ideation.
More children are being subjected to drug restraints because more children are being admitted to mental health facilities, a new American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) study found. Pharmacological restraints tend to be used with greater frequency on autistic children, low-income children and children of color.
Although the average rate for the use of drug restraints among all children ages 5-17 years old with any diagnosis remained relatively steady during the 2016-2021 study period, the analysis found a 141% increase in the use of restraint drugs overall, alongside lengthening inpatient stays.
This means more children are being hospitalized for mental health conditions and more are being subjected to drug restraints — antipsychotics used to sedate — and in ways that disproportionately disadvantage some youth.
In November, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) called for a ban on all psychiatric and physical restraints, citing a similar World Health Organization (WHO) statement and an October Los Angeles Times exposé on the coercive use of restraints in psychiatric facilities.
Experts who spoke with The Defender argued reliance on chemical restraints reflects the failure of a treatment model dominated by biological psychiatry rather than offering real or lasting solutions.
Given the lack of safety data on psychotropic drugs, especially for children (for antipsychotics, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications, and antidepressants), and the alleged lack of scientific basis for mental health diagnoses, experts emphasized the need for informed consent and refusal rights as a means to combat the reflexive overmedication of distressed children…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (childrensheatlhdefense.org)
Home | Caravan to Midnight (zutalk.com)
