There is a lot of controversy over giving foster children medication.

When Sammy came he was way over medicated because the dose just kept getting increased when his behaviors got worse. Never mind the fact that he was living between two houses, was having to leave his biological brother, and was told he was being adopted by some people he didn't know. We were able to cut the meds by 2/3. Over the years we have changed his medication as his body has changed, and as his behaviors have changed. We have never found a magic mix of medications that has been able to stabilize his behaviors, but this is a child you do not want in your home if he is not medicated.

I have had other kids that weren't medicated that needed to be.

I think we're seeing a lot more kids medicated than we used to for a couple of reasons.

1) We're getting better at diagnosing things that used to be dismissed as "normal kid behavior". Well, yeah, it's normal behavior to an extent, but when you cross a line there's a problem. Things like ADHD and Bi-Polar disorder are becoming more regular diagnosis when you used to hear things like “He’s a very active child” or “All boys do that.”

2) Kids in foster care have not had good pre-natal care and have been exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero that didn't exist ten, twenty or thirty years ago. Their brains get messed up in new ways every day and modern medicine has to try to keep up. Methamphetamine did not exist when I was growing up, but now it is not unusual for a baby to be born meth exposed. We regularly hear of children being born cocaine or crack addicted, not just exposed.

3) There are plenty of psychiatrists out there who don't get the trauma and attachment side of things and medicate for ADHD, or other disorders when it's really a trauma or attachment issue. Getting psychiatrist trained on childhood trauma is key to good mental health for our kids. We had one psychiatrist who only evaluated Sammy every six months, and the appointment took all of fifteen minutes. He didn’t get it at all. The psychiatrist we have now is fantastic. We have at least thirty minute check ups at least every other month. I am also able to easily reach him by phone if things crop up in between time.

So are kids in foster care over medicated? I really can’t give you an answer on that. There are so many variables that go into this. The foster parents I know don’t take medicating their child lightly. In some cases you will need the approval of a social worker in order to give your foster or pre-adoptive child medication. This is especially true in the case of “narcotic” medications, which most ADHD meds are.

If your child is not legally adopted yet, be sure to check with your social worker as to what the procedures are for giving your child medication.

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