Dear FRONTLINE,

I am astounded by the claim by Dr. Kiki Chang, interviewed on your show, that psychiatrists should aim to diagnose and treat not only kids with bipolar disorder, but even kids who are "at risk." Yet as of yet there is little evidence to support the notion that brain scans and family history can accurately identify someone who is "at risk," or that such preemptive treatment can really prevent bipolar disorder later in life.

Brain scans are not destiny: social and environmental factors, as well as brain structure, are widely thought to play a role in triggering the emergence of the disorder. Moreover, such an approach seems bound to result in self-fulfilling prophecy: if you medicate someone who doesn't have any symptoms from age 8 and he/she never develops symptoms, then the treatment must have been a success, right? This is non-logic.

I have no doubt that the kids featured on your show have some form of bipolar disorder and need to be on medication. My greater worry is that we are hurtling rapidly toward a future where a far vaster range of children - those with milder bipolar symptoms, those "at risk", the simply unruly and/or weird. This danger is all the greater when, as you mention on the show, pediatricians and GPs rather than trained psychiatrists are dispensing so many of these powerful drugs and diagnoses - which is something akin to a psychiatrist performing open-heart surgery.

Cambridge, MA

Dear FRONTLINE,

This program was very distressing. We are Stop Foundation, stoprx.org. We are a non-profit organization against the over medication of children and adults. The program clearly shows that these Psychiatrist M.D.'s have no idea how to treat these children. They are essentially saying "Well we don't know what the cause or solution is but take this drug". They are prescribing one drug which leads to another symptom, and then their answer is another drug? This is madness! This is the same group that used electric shock treatments and lobotomies years ago. These are extremely strong drugs, and these doctor's admit there is a Big Pharma connection. These children are developing their brains at this young age. The long term effects of these drugs are unknown. There are numerous natural alternatives to the Pharma solution such as Omega-3, amino acids like 5-Htp, SAMe, as well as, meditation, yoga among other viable solutions. They can also take these children off high carbohydrate and sugar diets. A donut and orange juice in the morning will make any kid hyper. We urge parents to read several of the books we have listed on our website, and do their own research. Unfortunately the Western Medical Solution is taking a drug, while other countries around the world are using natural alternatives. It is time to go "Internally Green".

Stop Foundation stoprx.org
San Francisco, Ca

Dear FRONTLINE,

My 10-year old daughter has been diagnosed with OCD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. She is easily irritated and hard to handle at times, but she is not explosive nor does she have rages. She does great in school and has many friends. Home is hard because it is as if she has held the anxiety in all day like a tea kettle coming to a boil; once she's home, it all comes out.

At the end of last school year her OCD and anxiety were so bad we struggled every day to get her to go and then stay at school (she was pre-occupied constantly with the thought that she would throw up at any moment.) We immediately started her in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a well known CBT therapist. We saw great results in reducing the OCD symptoms that were preventing her from going to school, or even wanting to leave the house, but the anxiety level she experiences is tremendous. Even fun activities, like an amusement park, overwhelm her with anxiety. She is irritable in our opinion because she doesn't feel good even when she's "feeling good" due to the anxiety floo