From The Anchorage Daily News— these kids seem to be wiser than the typical adult who is so blithely ready to take psychotropic drugs:
Before a roomful of important adults, foster kids and graduates of the system talked about being put on powerful psychiatric drugs and undergoing “treatment” when what might have helped more was a chance for a regular life with sports and clubs and jobs….
….Too many foster children are prescribed psychiatric drugs, the kids said. They are labeled as disturbed, defiant or anxious when in reality they are just reacting to the trauma of their broken families and the difficulties of living in state custody. (emphasis mine)
….”There are natural things in life that stress you out. You get depressed. You get sad or you get angry or anxious. They are natural emotions. I feel being in foster care and being on as many anti-psychotics and anti-depressants that I’ve been on — they see me for a week and they assume that’s the way I’ve always been,” Tucker said, her voice soft but her manner open. Later she explained that she’s shy, but wants to make life better for other foster children if she can. (continue the article here)
The over-medicating of children and in particular foster children is a huge problem nation wide. I hope what is happening in Anchorage starts happening all over the country with kids aging out and telling the truth!
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Everything Matters 
when and if those kids decide to come off drugs they will find themselves with all their problems still intact like an unfinished conversation on the phone.
unfortunately they will probably have many more problems than they would have had because now they’ll have the damage their developing brains could not escape on neurotoxins.
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drugging foster kids or any kid in the system is nothing new but it has become much worse
when I was a ward of the State everywhere I went there were kids being drugged for their problems and their problems were invariably the verbal, physical, psychological and sexual abuse suffered at the hands of their closest family members.
very often the sources of distress was parents with mental illness and substance abuse issues, others were abandoned or picked up when their parents were fled the state or were jailed.
this drugging of kids extends not just to kids in the foster care system but also to every kid in a residential facility or group home,
when I was services it was not uncommon for kids to be on 2-4 different drugs
the foster kids and group home kids that have contacted me after I made videos about the institutional life have gone on to describe being forced on 5,6,7 even 10 different drugs
their minds and bodies are being destroyed before they even have a chance and all for what,
the crime of being born to the wrong family and suffering for it.
don’t think that these kids get talk therapy every day either, more like once a week if their lucky,
either way, no coping mechanisms are taught at these places other than ‘don’t forget to take your meds’
when and if those kids decide to come off drugs they will find themselves with all their problems still intact like an unfinished conversation on the phone.
in my opinion the drugging of any child with psychiatric poisons is a criminal neglect and abuse.
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It’s really sad. Keep them sedated so that they don’t realize that the state is destroying their lives.
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It’s great that the foster kids are speaking out for themselves (even though this problem of medicating these kids is so disturbing and awful). I have heard drug awareness advocate professionals say that the best hope for a true revolution in mental health care is going to come from young people speaking out against treatment and describing what it does to them.
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Dear Gianna:
First time over at your blog! Quite impressive with quality articles great writing, and post. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I believe we both have been through the Mental Health Trenches and survived.
I can only hope and pray we as bloggers and voices can stop so many innocent children from going through the hell that we have experienced in the mental health system with medications and inappropriate care that is to this day given to countless unsuspecting youth and propagated upon their families.
Yours Truly,
Stan
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Thanks for posting this … it’s a topic that needs to be much more widely-discussed.
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Wow.
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Gianna,
Not sure it’s as bad anywhere as here in Texas….with drugging foster kids…What a crime!
This newspaper article offered some hope….Thanks!
Duane
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Through my job I come into contact with many foster kids in this situation. It’s awful.
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I am so glad i was in foster care for only 8 months.
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Yes someone coming from a history of abuse has reasons for being jumpy, untrusting, sad, or angry, not chemical imbalances. Defiant (of authority) is normal in teens, to be medicated for it, is crazy. In the 1960’s the youth didn’t like the “conservative norms of the time”, but were not diagnosed mentally ill and needing medication.
The power and faith in medications/chemicals as the solution to unwanted behaviours is alarming, yet an expected reaction from all the postive advertising of medications. Like the general public is never exposed to the truth of rising percentage rates of the mentally ill and not so rare ugly reactions to “helpful” medications.
It is attempted manipulation with chemicals. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. Master and slave. Willing slave it works, defiant slave it doesn’t.
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