vaccine damage - not recognized

[Guest guest]

The following is an article that was shared on my foster parent group.  I am

sure that everyone here understands the connection between vaccines and

distrubances in children's brains.  What many of you may not know (or even care)

about is that when children are in foster care they are re-vaccinated were they

need it or not.  When their behavior it questionable they are put on these

drugs.  Through no fault of their own these children are torn from their

families, put in a strange (to them) environment, and then many are drug to keep

them calm. 

 Here is the most scary part there are children in foster care because their

parents refused to vaccinate them (child endangerment) or to drug them further

when the dr. or counselor suggests it (medical neglect).  I can share with you

case after case of this happening.

Why am I telling you this................... be careful, be aware and do not

judge others to harshly.  I no longer foster because I refused to re-vaccinate a

2yr. old and the county threatened to charge me with medical neglect.  The child

came to me with immunization records and was sick when I took her to the dr. for

the check up we are required to go to in the first 72 hrs.  I now advocate for

foster children and their caretakers.  I have met mothers who trying to protect

their children have loss custody of the children, especially if there is a

custody situation in your child's life.

Sorry to be so long and off topic,

Rutherford Institute

No Child Left Undrugged

By W. Whitehead

6/9/2008

 

According to autopsy reports, 4-year-old Riley died from an overdose of

psychiatric drugs. At age 2, was diagnosed with attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). At 3, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder,

also known as manic depression. By the time she died on Dec. 13, 2006, little

was taking Clonidine, as well as the anti-convulsant Depakote and the

anti-psychotic Seroquel.

Whitehead

What were some of the symptoms that prompted such treatment plans? As her mother

described it, was “constantly getting into things, running around, not

being able to settle down.”

’s diagnosis was not a medical aberration. Her 10-year-old brother and

4-year-old sister were already being treated for manic depression. Indeed,

nearly one million children are reportedly diagnosed as bipolar, making it more

common than autism and diabetes combined. From 1994 to 2003, the number of

children treated for bipolar disorder increased 40 percent, a jump that many

experts attribute to more doctors aggressively applying the diagnosis.

An increasing number of medical officials are voicing the concern that children

are being misdiagnosed. Dr. McClellan, who runs a children’s psychiatric

hospital in the state of Washington, suggested that the bipolar diagnosis has

become a catch-all for aggressive and troubled children.

Likewise, child psychiatrist Holttum believes that the definition of

bipolar disorder is expanding. Whereas children who were seen as troubled or

irritable 10 or 15 years ago might have been treated with counseling, parental

training for their caregivers or other social interventions, children with

similar symptoms today are being diagnosed as bipolar and treated with

medication. Unfortunately, for many families, therapy is not even an option.

According to Dr. Brody, a child psychiatrist at the University of

land, since insurance companies often do not support therapy, most parents

opt for medication.

Not surprisingly, the pharmaceutical companies are reaping the rewards, aided by

the medical community and the media. Bipolar disorder medication is typically

three to five times more expensive than medications prescribed for other

disorders, such as depression or anxiety. As the News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash.,

points out, “Furthering the trend is extensive marketing of atypical

anti-psychotics by the companies that make them, and media coverage of bipolar

disorder as a childhood disease.”

Yet many of the anti-psychotic drugs being prescribed for children have not been

approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on them. Of the two that

have been approved for children, Risperdahl and Abilify, they’ve only been

approved for short-term use. Nevertheless, as the News Tribune points out,

because these drugs have been approved for adults, “doctors are free to

prescribe drugs to anyone and in any way they see fit once they have been

approved for some purpose.”

What this means is that in addition to being misdiagnosed, there is an increased

likelihood that children are also being overdrugged. Concern about this scenario

has prompted Dr. , chief medical officer for the Washington

state Medicaid program, to provide more stringent guidelines to ensure that

anti-psychotic drugs are prescribed to Medicaid children only when truly needed

and at proper dosages.

While ’s actions signal a move in the right direction, at least for

minor-aged Medicaid recipients in his state, it will do little to help children

in private care and in other states.

When confronted with the numbers of children being diagnosed with bipolar

disorder—about 800,000 in 2003, and likely much higher now—it is hard to know

how to respond. Could that many young people truly be suffering from this

disorder? It is tempting to lay the blame on an over-zealous medical community

or a greedy pharmaceutical industry. There is no doubt that they have benefited

financially from the sharp rise in bipolar cases among young people.

Is it more a case of kids just being kids—noisy, rambunctious, hyperactive,

disorderly? Or is there something else going on here? Curiously, one study

released in 2007 indicated that among children diagnosed with bipolar disorder,

two-thirds of them were boys.

While there are undeniably cases where children are actually suffering and are

helped by diagnosis and medication, I have to wonder about the majority. Little

is said in the studies I have read about the impact that family life and the

environment may have on the behavior of children diagnosed as bipolar, or even

ADHD, yet they can’t be ruled out.

Society as a whole has become irresponsible in its duty to young people.

Obsessed with materialism, we have handed over our young people to marketing

mavens and corporations eager to make a quick buck. Distracted by entertainment,

we have relinquished our children to television babysitters, allowing them to

become turned on by and tuned into mindless television programs, video games and

advertising that promote violence and premarital sex, among other unhealthy

behaviors. Children need human touch and love. All too often, parents give them

over to others for care. They also leave them floating in the non-real world of

virtual reality.

Thus, it is little wonder that so many children are out of control, disorderly

and unable to settle down. But they shouldn’t be victimized and punished for our

neglect. Nor should they be drugged into compliance. Our children are screaming

for help, but we’re not listening to what they’re saying. Instead, many parents

are just hoping to shut them up—whether with drugs or entertainment— and get a

little peace and quiet. But that’s not the answer.

A solution will not be found by passing another law. Rather, it must start at

home and in the community. When the family breaks down, everything breaks down.

We need to start by re-building families. Parents need to be parents and stop

over-scheduling their children. They need to start spending time with them.

Finally, parents need to say no to drugs for their children. They need to

control what their children watch and listen to. And they need to take off the

headphones, turn off the cell phones and try communicating with their children.

Constitutional attorney and author W. Whitehead is founder and president of

The Rutherford Institute. His new book The Change Manifesto (Sourcebooks) will

be out in August 2008.

Link: http://www.rutherfo rd.org/articles_ db/commentary. asp?record_ id=537