Dear FRONTLINE,

I am a veteran elementary school teacher and the parent of a child who is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Auspergers Syndrome. First off, BOTH are mental illnesses...illnesses of the functioning of the brain. We just have done more research into the autistic spectrum and it has better marketing. Also, it is easier to spot a child with autistic spectrum symptoms than one with bipolar.

I agree that diet, alternative teatments and assistance with parenting skills (specifically about parenting an exceptional child) are critical and beneficial to the treatment of my son.

Additionally, however, he requires med treatment to allow him to develop and maintain relationships with peers, which he greatly wants to do. They also allow him to control his moods to a greater degree than he can without them. They help him control suicidal ideations and have decreased his night terrors and certain other anxieties. Basically his life is crippled without them.

I have many times been questioned about the med treatment of my son. I know we have worked diligently to get the best care and treatments available. WE went totally natural at first, using the services of a homeopathic doctor and a naturalpath, dietary changes and therapy. In our case they were not evough, though we continue to use the natrualpath and beleive that she has helped immensely.

The health care system and our society at large is doing a poor job of handling mental illnesses. We closed many facilities here in California in the 80's, leaving mentally ill patients on their own. Mental illnesses are vilified in our society and greatly misunderstood. If my son had asthma and I didn't treat him with the proper medicine I would be considered an unfit parent. Yet there are people who feel we shouldn't treat our child with the medicine available. Bipolar disorder is a potentially deadly disease and those afflicted with it suffer a much greater incident of suicide than the general population.

We found that a PET scan was helpful in supporting the diagnosis, but still our son has not found a balance even with the meds. Bipolar is a moving target and, add to that adolesence, and it's even trickier to treat. I highly recommend avoiding products with high-fructose cornsyrup, and making other changes too. Additionally we make sure that our son takes vitamins and supplements specifically to help him with potential side effects of the meds he's on (such as liver function support).

Good luck to any parent whose child has any of these disorders or syndromes. Make sure you get into a support group so you know you're not alone and the unfit parent many may judge you to be. It reminds me of losing my dad two years ago. Until you lose a parent you simply can't picture the impact it has on your life. People who don't live with a mentally ill child have no idea of the impact on the household.

My last point (though clearly I can go on) is that I agree that doctors are doing a poor job on the whole of taking the time to really get to know a child. These diagnoses are annecdotally based at this point and patience is critical.

Thank you Frontline for this show.

Michael G.
North Hills, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

I'm D.J.'s grandma and after listening to people bash my daughter and her parenting style, I must speak up. I'm shocked at some of the medical community, especially Dr. Elizabeth Roberts.Dr. Roberts, your comments are the most disturbing to me. You attack my daughters parenting skills, when only one short shot was shown during the show.She has two other beautiful children who respond well to their parents discipline. They listen well, behave and are able to learn from their consequences. D.J. does not have that ability at this time.

You report that D.J. is a perfect example of how poorly the medication solution has worked. I beg to differ with you. D.J. now sleeps at night, he used to go three to four days without sleep at a time. He was a danger to himself and to other family members during these manic phases. He thought he was superman and tried to fly onto the swinging blades of the ceiling fan. He does not have tantrums, he has RAGES, rages that can last for hours. His parents are not permissive at all, at times they are too strict. I certainly hope you don't judge your patients as quickly as you judged my daughter.

What wasn't reported in this story of D. J. was his family's mental health history, LOTS of it. His aunt and uncle both suffer from Bi-polar Disorder, and there are other mental health issues in the family. We have family in both the medical and mental health field. We are educated people.

My daughter has tried and looked at many different options. Dr. Bacon spent many months diagnosing and evaluating D.J. It was made to seem that he did not offer alternative options - he did so many times. His answer is not always medications. He helps problem solve with my daughter on different ways to help D. J. deal with his symptoms. He recently discontinued the Risperdal and they continually reassess his needs of medications.

A part of the diagnosing comes from the DSM IV criteria, a tool to help clinicians and doctors properly diagnose patients. Unfortunately D. J. meets a lot of that criteria.No parent wants their child "labeled" something they are not, especially a mental health illness. All avenues have been explored before coming to the conclussion of Bi-polar. D. J. and his family all suffer horribly when he is not on his medication, D.J. probably more than anyone. He deserves the right to lead as normal a life as possible. The medications help him attain this.

To those of you obsessed with the diet and food thing (Patricia Davis), D.J. was shown eating one corndog and drinking what they thought was a Gatorade. It was not Gatorade, the family had just returned from a soccer tournament (excercise) and the drink was a sugar free drink mix that was passed out after the games. D. J. loves his veggies and fruits. My daughter cooks balanced meals daily. How many kids have a hot dog for lunch and no one thinks anything of it? My grandson's school has corndogs on the menu for lunch. It's not like D.J. has a weight problem or is obese. I'm appalled at labeling the mothers of these kids obese, what does that have to do with D.J.'s diagnosis?Narrow minded people who make uneducated comments without enough knowledge of the situation need to be less judgemental. Walk a day in the life of D.J. and family, then give me your opinion.

I work in the mental health field. Unfortunatley, I and many others have worked hard to de=stigmatize mental illness. I fear these kinds of reports will keep some people from getting the help they so badly need. Suicides among our youth keep rising. Medications do help, they save lives and families.

Tracy Schmidt
Lakewood, CO

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

Many of the postings in this discussion address the possible role of diet and nutrition in the symptoms of kids like DJ who are receiving bipolar diagnoses. We want to point out that just as there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of medication treatment, there is insufficient evidence at this point to link nutrition - or, for that matter, parenting - to the kinds of volatile mood symptoms that afflict these children. There's a great deal of interest in the idea that changes in diet might offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals and there are studies underway at some of the most prominent academic centers in the country. But as with so many aspects of this field, thoroughly researched answers are still to come. And to focus solely on nutrition, or on parenting, or on heredity, or on any other possible single contributing factor, runs the risk of underestimating the marked complexity of these cases.We also want to point out that all the families who participated were anxious about being judged as parents and were concerned about how they would be portrayed. Viewers should realize that in a one hour film, the details of each child's story were compressed and countless hours of footage were left out.

Dear FRONTLINE,

A very interesting and well made documentary. My questions: - Has anyone seen those TV shows where a 'nany' is sent to a household where children show most of the behaviour problems shown in your documentary? The parents, loving people without exception, have no clue on how to raise a child. And after 3 or so weeks of tips and techniques the children have changed into happier, more cooperative and affectionate little persons.- Have the change in values about educating children (discipline, etc) not left parents whout any new childraising capabilities (having rejected much of what their parent's generation's applied)?- Have studies on food changes not already shown to have considerable effects on behaviour?- Have so many other factors -social, cultural and economic- that are sufficiently well known to list here, not changed abruptly enough in the last couple of decades to have an influence in children's (and parents) everyday lives?- Do doctors adress all these issues before they resource to drugs, which do not solve children's nor thier parents' sufferning anyway?We know the answer to this last question. The next question, and it seems that few dare to ask this one, is why?Thank you for the opportunity to share our thoughts on this crucial issues worldwide.

Carlos de la Villa
Amsterdam, Holland

Dear FRONTLINE,

Your story on the medicated child was very disturbing. The children in this program were not the sick ones; it's our society that is sick. #1. Doctors are not all knowing (that's why they call it a practice)

Nowhere in this program did it show a dr. looking at the family dynamics of these children's homes.

It seems that there is a generation of parents that don't understand that 2 and 3 year olds have tantrums and that they go thru a period of adjustment at that age to assert their indivduality. They are developing a whole range of emotions and actions that don't always please us! Also depression and agitation is very common in 11 to 17 year olds as their hormones adjust. Instead of handing out drugs to the kids; maybe we should teach the adults that their dream of a beautiful, perfect, happy and obedient child is just not realistic and we should love, respect and cherish our children!!!

Vicki Moisio
North Ridgeville, Ohio

Dear FRONTLINE,

In response to your recent reminder, after reading a few of the more recent postings, adding to and restating what I previously wrote about 'The Medicated Child,' there still isn't much than can be said for certain about the controversy except the obvious. For many thousands of years, prior to the advent of modern science, medicine and the lucrative drug industry, the vast majority of surviving children survived childhood without being heavily medicated.

And, not that long ago, America was a young nation with a majority of farms being family owned and growing foods organically. Science, medicine and our way of governance have made it possible for most Americans to survive the infectious diseases and severe traumas that used to keep the average life span relatively low, as it remains in some less developed nations still today. However, there is a down side.

There is this natural tendency toward extremism. If a little governance is good, a lot should be better. If a little science is good, a lot should be better. If a little medicine is good, a lot should be better. Unfortunately, a lot is not always better, especially when it begins to favor using drugs with possible harmful side effects to treat mysterious conditions, over determining the underlying causes of those conditions and preventing them.

Most of our commercially prepared foods these days are adulterated, contaminated and/or highly processed. Some are even bred to be commercially, not nutritionally, valuable ('King Corn;' PBS, Independent Lens) and some are genetically altered. Most doctors are poorly trained in additives, allergies and nutrition. My personal experience including, but not limited to, being a troubled child, an anti-social teen, a premature veteran of the military, a job changing adult, a victim of serious, mysterious illness in 1981 at thirty-seven and, finally, a recovering survivor following an apparent, tentative diagnosis of sudden, adult onset of multiple allergies in late 1980 suggests the FDA and the AMA are to food quality in modern America as the Bush administration was to WMDs in Iraq.

Whether or not it actually was the increased use of MSG (monosodium glutamate) in commercially prepared foods following the FDA approval in 1980 (as it still appears to be in 2008), that made me mysteriously ill and alerted me to the problem, the fact is that excessive MSG (and other artificially concentrated and/or produced non-nutritional and non-preservative additives) simply do not belong in our foods, most doctors are not trained to recognize mild sensitivity reactions in adults, let alone children, and food allergy, tolerance and sensitivity testing and treatment, effectively, are still in the dark ages in the U.S., at least.

Now, an entire generation has been exposed to serious dietary adulterations all their lives. Isn't that a grand experiment which we never volunteered for, and paid our public officials to protect us against? Is it any wonder there are multiple epidemics of chronic and mysterious diseases in America in 2008? Probably only highly trained chemical and medical professionals can determine the actual molecular effects of replacing essential nutrients in good food with alien, artificial and/or inferior ingredients, to create today's alleged 'chicken patty,' 'pork sausage' or 'salisbury steak' (minimally), but I can assure others that the bloating, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, irritability, insomnia, stiff and achy joints, obesity, ringing ears and sinusitis (minimally) I deal with on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis, without prescription drugs, are due (and controllable) in large part to (by avoiding and/or mitigating) commercially prepared foods adulterated with FDA approved substances.

It was very difficult for me to discover and understand my chemical, food and metal sensitivities, apart from mainstream medicine which failed to ever identify and/or explain them. It surely must be impossible (as it was for me) for any young child to determine the food (and/or environmental chemicals) that loving parents provide are what are causing the vague aches and pains, energy swings, irritability, mood swings, sleeplessness and wandering mind that nearly ruined my school years and severely diminished my adult life. When it comes to diet, especially where children are concerned, reason dictates we err on the side of caution, if at all, and get our foods made natural, pure and safe again. Then, perhaps, medicating children would make sense. Let reason prevail.

Charles Shaver
Waupaca, WI

Dear FRONTLINE,

Hello Frontline,

Re: Medicated Child

Thank you for your wonderful and education shows.

Regarding the medicated child, I was suprised that more of the Alternative Therapies and natural practioners were not involved or included with this film. I am a board certified Naturopath whom works with many children in private practice. ND's are complimentry yet look at root and cause vs drugs. We provide well care for children. This is quite popular in other countries and is working in the U.S. However, the FDA, AMA, and the big pharmacuetical companies, disreguard us. In fact, what are these kids eating- processed foods with chemicals and or excitoxins in them, what are they acutally missing in regards to their bio chemsitry, is there heavy metals toxicity? allergy sensitiveness, stress etc. We provide relaxation, massage, nutrition, homeopathics, accupressure,cranial sacral, aromatherapy. It helps.. it works.. we are too much a drug society. In my opinon, it ruins a childs developing brain... we need to do more in are US for WELL PREVENTIVE CARE, not drugs.. Lets protect are children. Good Health -

Dr. Gail Kopin
Lake Zurich , IL

Dear FRONTLINE,

Dear FRONTLINE,

Thank you for producing such an insightful program. As a family practice physician, I found myself with a burning question which was unanswered.

Generally, I was appalled by the young age at which the children were prescribed such large amounts of potent medications. That being said, I did glean that most of these children have issues which extend beyond routine behavioral problems which might be treated with therapy alone. I truly hope that this is the case, because I would think it is tantamount to malpractice not to start or at least add therapy to such situations.

The question which lingered aims at the base of the issue, which is why are we diagnosing more childhood Bipolar disorder now?

ADHD is also a newer diagnosis, which I attribute at least partly to too much TV at a young age. Our children an no longer concentrate on real life which does not have a new flicker on the screen every couple of seconds.

Bipolar disorder is different. It really focuses on the fact that there is an emotional component, and an inability for these young children to deal with their emotions. Why now?

Practicing a type of medicine which spans generations, leads me to this burning question. WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THESE CHILDREN HAVE MOTHERS WHO TOOK SSRI'S DURING PREGNANCY? I certainly hope that this is a question which the researchers are asking. As Child Psychiatrists, they may be simply focused on the child, while the Obstetrician were only focused on mom.

In my mind, as an adult, we use SSRI's to sedate the depth of our emotions. If a fetal brain is bathed in this sedating chemical, can the child's brain handle real life without sedation. Could the new diagnosis of Bipolar disorder actually be a "withdrawal" symptom? This is especially pertinent when the diagnosis is made very young 2 to 5 years of age. They may not be diagnosed until 5 because they do not enter the school system until then.

In no way do I feel that a mother would be at fault. The medical-industrial complex would be to blame. For years we have warned mothers away from alcohol, another sedative. Luckily the alcohol lobby is not pushing for mothers to drink.

The importance of continued research and asking questions like these is an exigent matter. This is our future generation, and families should not have to suffer this, if we can get at the root cause.

Thank you for your programming, and for reading this letter. Pass it on.

shannon garton MD
eagle, colorado

Dear FRONTLINE,

Dear: Christina Koontz

As a parent of an 8 year old boy who was recently diagnosed with ADHD, I can't imagine the pain and horror that you have endured. Most people's response when you tell them that your child was diagnosed with ADHD is something along the lines of "what ever you do -- DO NOT medicate your kid".

After working with his 1st and 2nd grade teachers, we decided to consult with a Pediatric Physician. He referred us to a child Psychologist for diagnosis. After several meetings and many questionnaires for the parents and the teacher he was diagnosed.

He has started on his Med's and we are in our first trial. There is no one miracle or answer. However, with a lot of communication among the parties involved and acute observation we hope to put together a plan that will work for our son. So far so good.

To reiterate Mrs. Koontz' point: As a parent of one of these children, there are many sleepless nights and much anxiety! We would do any thing in the world for our children.

Best of luck to you and DJ.

Respectfully yours

Peter Kelly
MPLS, MN

Dear FRONTLINE,

I have Bipolar I, and have had my entire life. The difference from then to now, is that I am medicated. My life prior to an appropriate diagnosis was miserable. From childhood, I had grandiose thoughts, night and nights of sleeplessness, followed by suicidal depressions. My parents did nothing. They figured I would just "grow out of it".

The parents profiled in this special are to be commended. They are making positive changes in their childrens lives--and believe me, when you have bipolar disorder, being medicated and feeling sane when you are used to your brain being on fire IS a positive change.

Lisa Gonzales
Near Jacksonville, FL

Dear FRONTLINE,

This was a most disturbing report. As both a student who wants to go into the field of neuropsychiatry and a consumer of mental health services, I was shaken by it. On the one hand, I totally believe in mental illness and its behavioral and chemical treatments. Yet, I find it disconcerting to medicate children. Their brains are not fully developed, thus giving them psychotropic medication is extremely risky. I mean, we hardly know the long term effects of giving these drugs to adults, never mind children.

Perhaps, in extreme, and I mean, extremely extreme, cases medicating children is warranted, but for the most part, I think it is a very dangerous decision. I hope that in my future work that I may make a difference in both children and adult's lives in the safest and most successful ways possible.

Svenja Kempin
Seattle, WA

Dear FRONTLINE,

The other story that enraged me was this Brain clinic for the price of $3000 have your kid scanned and diagnosed with some cockamanie diagnosis and drug him. What is the matter with the medical profession, the parents, guardians, who's looking out for these kids. These kids have had their rights taken away from them and they are going to be the ones to suffer the consequenses.

And the smoking gun, the drug companies who have freedom to make a buck at the expense of your children. Shame on all of you.

Pat Steadman
Albany, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

I have dealt with this matter in the last two years with my now 8 year old son. Compared to children on this program his case is very mild. I went through the emotions of being a bad parent and making poor choices. I can say since the onset of the so called "diagnosis" (in which I do not agree), I have done a great deal of reading and research. My son was prescribed Adderol, I had him on this for approximately 8 months and then discontinued by my choice. During this time I did start to eliminate some items from his/our diet and the results were very obvious to me. I do believe that our diet as a society has changed over the past years due to the busy schedules we as American's keep; however, keep in mind this is my experience and I do not point fingers. I as a parent know how trying times can be and you want the best for your children. This is why I only suggest you read the book Carol Farmer suggested, I too have that book, and Dr. Bob's Guide to Stop ADHD in 18 days (www.DrBob4Health.com). I am aware this title seems very extreme and all people react differently but I also know that you as parents want to help your children. Truly you have nothing to lose by diet change only. Who's to say you do not already cook in this matter, not me. It's only a suggestion. I truly hope the best for all of your families and I urge you to take a look at the web page, diet change has improved our situation and I am in hopes that it can do the same for you.

Side note: I do understand there are mental illnesses and conditions which do warrant the use of pharmaceuticals; however I also believe there are some conditions that can be changed by diet and vitamin supplements.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Dear FRONTLINE,

There are definitely situations when medication is needed.

There is a BIG difference between a child that has ADD / ADHD and one with Bipolar. There is a difference between a child that is hyperactive and one that is suicidal and extremely violent. Also there are degrees of a persons illness.

My daughter has ADD but, I choose not to medicate her, she has been able to learn coping skills that help her stay organized and other things that I have been able to teach her to stay focused...and yes, she is moody.. she is a teenager, aren't they all.. but, there is a difference between being moody and a child that is Bipolar..

However, my son is Bipolar and High Functioning Autistic.. he NEEDS medication!! Have I tried other things prior to medication? YOU BET I HAVE.. but, it doesn't work.. the medication is not a cure.. it is a band-aid to help w/ the symptoms so that he can function..

What the program didn't show is what it looks like when a child is MANIC and SUICIDAL.. we have been there many times.. he has had 4 inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations in the past 3 years.. He is 9..

He started medication at age 6 when he became so out of control that he was a danger to himself and everyone else around him. Do I want him on the meds? NO! Do they help him function? YES! Have we exhausted other options? YES, however, we are still pursuing other areas to see if eventually we can get him off of the meds.. but, to date nothing else has worked..

We have been through 4 psychiatrists because, to be honest, I know more about the medication than some of the Drs we have had! I know the types of meds my son can't take, and I know the ones that work.. Out of approx. 20 types of medications only 2 have helped him.. some of them especially the SSRI's and SNRI's make him CRAZY.. Usually w/ bipolar they can make children Manic or suicidal or both. When the psychiatrist wanted to put him on Ritalin, I told him NO. Usually if an anti-depressant has the effect that it had the stimulant could have sent him right over the edge.. The psychiatrist that we have now didn't even want to try the Ritalin while he was in the hospital because he knew that it could really send him off balance. The Dr. we have now listens to me and is very open to anything that I want to try or disagree with.

I think that when making the decision to medicate you need to find the right Dr. and this can take awhile.. You need to research the medication, learn the side effects and watch your child closely..

My son was on risperdal and within days he started having involuntary tongue movements (TD).. what did we do? We stopped the medication.. Over time you learn what types of medications they react to .. If they became more activated on an SSRI then more than likely they can't have SSRI's or SNRI's.. it is very hard to know because every child is different that's why it's so important to watch the reactions.

Would I have had my son on 4 or more medications at a time? NO, because then how would you know what was doing what.. The psychiatrists should know this and I am sad to say some of them don't.. As a parent you have to be the one to do the research, take notes, and watch the medications and reactions carefully.

Whenever we tried a new medication I always only gave him one at a time for a week or so to make sure he didn't have a reaction and then I would slowly add another med and watch his reaction.. If after the second med was added and he started getting crazy again then I knew which med it was.. sometimes when you are adding so many medications at the same time you have no idea which one is causing the problem.

Do I agree that 2 year olds should be medicated ? NO, even if they are out of control they are still manageable.. My son was out of control for as long as I remember but, there's a difference between managing a 2 year old and a 6 year old w/ superhuman strength that is Manic and Suicidal ( Mixed state ) at the same time..

Until we are able to find something else that will help him we really don't have a choice not to medicate.

The medication has saved his life.. I know it's hard for people to believe that a child can be suicidal at 6 or even so violent that he can't be managed, but, it is true.. none of this was really shown on the program.. when you watch the program and see the children they are not showing the behaviors that are usually seen with severely mentally ill people..not to say that they didn't have them but, it wasn't shown.. watching would understand our choice to medicate..

I am sure that I speak for the majority of us parents out there that medicate our children, this is not something that we want to be doing.. most of us have tried everything possible before choosing the medication.. The medication was our last hope, and hopefully not the final solution.

Phoenix , AZ

Dear FRONTLINE,

After watching the program I found myself saddened and enraged.I was mis-diagnosed at a young age (13) with Bipolar. I was subsequently put on a barrage of medications. Later I was diagnosed as Borderline Personality Disorder and put on another barrage of meds in addition to meds for the Bipolar.

Since that time, as an adult, they've found that I have a high functioning form of autism which was missed repeatedly by mental health professionals in their haste to "control symptomology".

I am currently med free, mostly due to a dramatic shift in my diet and awareness of autistic brain function. Symptoms are now minimal.

Sorry...lack of enough physical exercise and diets loaded with chemicals, additives and pesticides is enough to make ANYONE function at less than the optimum, let alone kids who are slightly off of the mythical "norm" that everyone seems to be chasing.

Siobhan McElwee
Fairbanks, Ak

Dear FRONTLINE,

A note from the producers said, "The focus of this piece was on the growing practice of prescribing medication to children with behavior problems. . . The best outcomes are produced through a combination of drugs AND therapy." And?! And one more thing--nutrition!

Maybe Frontline could look into those anecdotal success stories about vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids. They might be baby steps for a great leap forward.

"Not enough research" is the cautionary reply to those who have only anecdotal reports. But how do new approaches happen? From anecdotes and anomalies! They suggest new directions for research and lead to unexpected answers.

Once there was a rule that matter could not become energy and vice versa. Along came one little anomalous idea, e=mc2, and that rule was (eventually) tossed out.

Bucky Fuller liked to talk about well-placed leverage translating a small amount of energy into a large amount of change. He said, "There's a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trim tab. It's a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. . . . You can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to [change direction]."

The families who try alternative and holistic nutrition for their children might be trim tabs. Epidemiological studies show that certain foods have sustained magnificent health in whole cultures for millennia. The other side of the coin is research showing that the lower a person's DHA and EPA, the higher the risk of mental illness. Same goes for vitamin D deficiency. And, as Linus Pauling found, same goes for vitamin C. Magnesium and B6 have shown benefits. There are other nutrients waiting to be researched.

They might have a long wait. These approaches wouldn't be `profit centers' for pharmacological corporations, hence there is no funding for large double blind, cross-over trials. Until land grant universities and NIMH throw more money at these ideas, they will stay in the realm of anecdote, with the only proof being all those centuries of results.

Lauren Ayers
Sonoma, CA