Program set to cut Ritalin, Prozac use on children

WASHINGTON -- The White House will announce a major effort today to reverse a sharp increase in the number of preschool children made to use Ritalin, Prozac and other powerful prescription psychiatric drugs, it was revealed yesterday.

As part of the initiative, the government will inform parents and teachers about the risks of such drugs, the Food and Drug Administration will develop new drug labels, the National Institutes of Health will begin a huge nationwide study of Ritalin use in children under the age of 6, and the White House will hold a conference this fall on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in very young children.

Hillary Rodham Clinton and federal health officials plan to meet today with parents, psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists, nurses and social workers to discuss the issue.

Then the administration plans to issue a statement declaring that "the use of medication is not generally the first option for a preschool child with a psychiatric disorder."

In a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers reported that there apparently has been a sharp increase in preschoolers prescribed psychotropic drugs, particularly stimulants like Ritalin and anti-depressants like Prozac.

The study caused concern among parents and medical experts alike, and the administration is now trying to address that concern.

In an interview, Dr. Steven Hyman, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said, "As a rule of thumb, doctors, psychologists and social workers should attempt to modify the behavior of a child and deal with family crises before drugs are prescribed."

The government has prepared a new guide for parents on the treatment of young children with mental disorders. "When medication is used, it should not be the only strategy," but should be part of an overall treatment plan, the guide says. Parents and doctors may want to consider behavioral therapy for the child, family therapy and other techniques to help manage the child's symptoms, the document says.

In an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month, Dr. Joseph Coyle, chairman of the psychiatry department at Harvard Medical School, said that children with behavioral disorders were "increasingly subjected to quick and inexpensive pharmacologic fixes," even though "there is no empirical evidence to support" such use.