Having cared for a bipolar person for over 5 years i agree with the aritcle somewhat. They had prescribed medications that you could not tell what worked and what didn't, 8 pills in total. She now takes three and has not be in the hospital since I took her in. Normally she would go in 4 times to 5 times a year. It is true once your wean the meds down you can perscribe what actullay gives them a quality of life.

Whether it's bi-polar disorder; autism or 'spectrum' disorders; chemical dependency or some other form of mental illness, there is one constant. Insurance companies will 'stand guard' against paying for claims on these disorders at every turn. Every claim made against the 'paid in good faith premiums' chips away at insurance company profits to which the companies feel ... 'entitled' -on a nearly no risk basis. They greatly reduce their 'risk' by through 'rubber stamp' denial of claims! One need go no further than the front page of today's StarTribune business section to support this. Article Title? 'A New Pay Wall'- First on the list? Stephen Hemsley, CEO, United Health Group- 2010 Compensation? $48.830 MILLION! Every claim denied to a good faith premium payer simply adds to such an obscene and gross pay figure. Paid for in large part on claims NOT paid. United Health Group must have the healthiest client base on earth! With a pay figure like this they can't be using much money to pay claims! Hey, this is America and I'm all for "makin' a buck." But, health care companies have become the major problem, not part of the solution to health care. The greed attached to this pay figure will help drive the national health arguement in favor of a forced government control. Insurance companies are the new crowned 'entitlement kings'!

see "The Other Welfare" in the Boston Globe for what these labels do to Social Security. Read: Anatomy of an Epidemic, The Myth of a Chemical Cure, Toxic Psychiatry, Medication Madness. Most shrinks are airheads and in the pocket of the drug companies. Would anyone suggest this mother has a lot on her plate, maybe too much with no mention of a significant other to help raise her children?

Doctors and pharmaceutical companies have been the "cop out" for parents and teachers who do not want to do their job or find it inconvenient to do so. Children go through a lot of stages during development. Some need more or less patience to gain the status of "normal" maturity. When you try to label every observed aspect of this development and make it easier for the parent to hold his/her job and social life you create a medical freak with drugs and a label. The parents and the doctors should be tested to see if the motives for their actions and diagnosis are clear.

I wonder if the family has considered the possibility of lyme and other tick-borne illnesses as a possible cause of her psychiatric problems. I see this picture of Jade playing in the tall grass that ticks thrive in. Tick-borne illnesses cause anxiety, emotional outbursts, uncontrolled anger and depression. She may have an illness that can be cured - rather than managed with anti-psychotics her entire life.

The truly sad part is that if you look deeply enough into these childrens home environment you will see parents (or often only one parent) who never had any kind of control over their child and is ill equipped to give children what they need, stability, discipline and love. Children learn dysfunctional behavior very, very early on and will continue with that trend unless there is dramatic behavioral/enviromental intervention. While not "all" children from these sorts of homes develop the same types of problems, often it is a child with a certain personality who is acting out the internal family dysfunction that then is "punished" so to speak by being fed pills pills and more pills. These drugs are terrible. The side effects are life altering. Obesity, diabetes etc. It's no coincidence that you will find whole families with some kind of diagnosis in every child. That is a clear sign of an out of control home environment that the children are then acting out about. Instead of drugs, lets require parenting classes until the child starts behaving rather than drugging the child until the parent feels better. Lets wait until a childs brain actually matures before you start labeling a mental illness!!!!

We seem to be in the increasing habit of medicating our children, ... for the signs and symptoms of ... being children. Now, it seems that half of the younger generation I see now in the adult workplace, .. is on meds.

Instead of discussing labels or drugs, what are these children eating for breakfast? What is in their cupboards and refrigerator? What sugary cereal do they like best? Two boys with ADHD and a girl with raging tantrums. Isn't it fair to question what they are eating? What kind of vegetable oil are they consuming too excess. How much HFCS? Are these simply 'Crisco Kids?'

If you read the story, correctly, the mother said that the father of the children has a history of mental illness on his side of the family. It is very likely that the mental illness is derived from his side of the family and has nothing to do with her parenting skills. I did not glean any information from this article, which suggests that her parenting skills are seriously lacking...How did everyone else pick that up?

Dietheart is correct. Nutritional deficiencies are huge contributors to health problems including mental health issues. Eat the way we did 100 years ago, before the obesity surge, the high rate of cancer and heart disease, the high rate of mental disorders. No processed food, grass fed beef and dairy, healthy saturated fats like grass-fed butter. Organic produce No high fructose corn syrup. No vegetable oil. Home cooked meals. Research the GAPS diet which is reversing disease for many. This IS possible!