Freedom School children taught to build ‘eco-dome mud huts’ for ’sustainable housing’

Melissa Gadson, 13, flattens bags of dirt as students at the Freedom School learn to build a dome shelter that is affordable and not harmful to the environment. (WILL YURMAN staff photographer)

Iliona Khalili, was on site at NEAD’s Freedom School on Tuesday, teaching youth how to fill grain bags with dirt to create circular rows of giant soft bricks that would be held together with barbed wire.

Freedom School director George Moses said “Don’t complain about there being a lack of affordable sustainable quality housing.”

Democrat and Chronicle | Jul 11, 2009

Dirt eco-dome to rise in Rochester

by Erica Bryant

Call it an “eco-dome,” “moon cocoon,” or “modern mud hut,” an earthen structure of minimally processed local materials will soon be rising in Rochester.

The City Planning Commission approved North East Area Development Inc.’s application on Monday to construct a 30-foot diameter dome that will be made primarily of bagged dirt. The eco-dome is expected to be the first of its kind in the city.

NEAD plans to use a building technique designed by Iranian-born architect Nader Khalili. In the 1980s he presented it to NASA as a way to build lunar dirt structures. In the years before his death in 2008, Khalili promoted the process as a way to build affordable structures that aren’t harmful to the environment.

His wife, Iliona Khalili, was on site at NEAD’s Freedom School on Tuesday, teaching youth how to fill grain bags with dirt to create circular rows of giant soft bricks that would be held together with barbed wire. The students worked on a practice dome this week on the front lawn of their Goodman Street school.

As they worked, Khalili talked about humanity’s long history of building with earth and the value of rediscovering building materials that don’t have to be transported hundreds of miles and heavily processed.

“If people only knew what treasure lies under their feet,” said Khalili, a sustainable architecture instructor for the Albany-based Center for Sustainable Living. “Everything we need is right here.”

She estimates that builders have used her husband’s “earth bag” technique to construct more than 50 domes in the United States and about 3,000 worldwide.

NEAD’s plans for Melville Street include a central dome structure about 30 feet in diameter with some smaller dome offshoots. It will include a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

The organization will be aided by representatives from the Center for Sustainable Living and the California-based Peace Center for Youth and Family Advancement in its goal of maximum energy efficiency for the dome. Metin Vargonen, who works with sustainable energy for the Center for Sustainable Living, will help orient the eco-dome and its windows so the structure gets the maximum solar energy in the building during the winter and loses the least possible amount of heat.

Marsha Allen, of the Peace Center for Youth and Family Advancement, hopes these buildings become common around the city. Her organization trains Americans how to build eco-dome structures with the goal of sending them to Africa to share the knowledge with street children and other people in need of affordable shelter. “As these projects unfold, (Rochester) will be a strategic center for earthen architecture and the difference it can make for people who don’t have a lot of money,” she said.

The Baobab Cultural Center is also planning to build an eco-dome and will host a walk-a-thon on Sunday at Ellison Park to advance the project. Founder Moka Lantum said that he is looking for a plot of city land to accommodate a 1,200-square-foot dome cluster that will house a reception area, bathroom, workshop space, art gallery and gathering space for films and community dialogues.

Construction of the Melville Street eco-dome is expected to begin by the end of July. Freedom School director George Moses said he hopes this project is the first of many because such efforts fit the school’s mission of fostering civic engagement. “Don’t complain about there being high energy bills. Don’t complain about there being a lack of affordable sustainable quality housing,” he said Tuesday, a shovel in his hand and his red T-shirt dusted with dirt. “Do something about it.”

Chinese government accused of taking babies from parents to sell on US and EU adoption markets

Chinese babies sold for adoption to US and Europe, report claims

Authorities in China are investigating reports that dozens of babies who were taken from their parents for breaching the country’s strict one-child policy were sold for adoption to families in Europe and America.

Telegraph | Jul 3, 2009

By Peter Foster in Beijing

An investigation has alleged that up to 78 babies taken into care in Guizhou province, in southern China, were sold for £1,800 each, mostly to childless couples in the US but also to families from European countries, including Sweden and Spain.

Many of the girls were genuine orphans or had been abandoned by their parents as unwanted, however, in at least three cases it is alleged the children were removed in lieu of £2,000 fines levied for breach of China’s draconian one-child policy.

The cases relate to a three-year period between 2004-2006, when the policy was being strictly enforced by the local government of Zhenyuan county in Guizhou.

The local government issued a statement saying that two senior local officials had been warned and had received “executive demerits” following a local disciplinary inquiry. The statement said the government would continue to investigate the allegations. “There will be no cover up,” the statement added.

China is a popular destination for overseas couples, particularly from the US, who want to adopt children and is generally perceived to have a well-regulated and transparent system, imposing strict requirements on applicants.

Yang Jibin, the reporter who researched the story for the Southern Weekly newspaper in Guangzhou, said he was shown a list of 80 female babies while on a visit to the Zhenyuan state orphanage, of which 78 had been adopted abroad.

He told the story of one couple, Lu and Yang, who gave up their fourth baby girl in 2003 after a visit from a birth control officer who insisted on taking the baby away, describing the girl as “abandoned baby, found and turned in by Lu” in the orphanage register.

“That was my job. I just followed the policy,” the officer was reported as saying, “They were willing to give up their baby to offset the fine” After relinquishing their child without signing any formal contracts, Lu and Yang never returned to the orphanage to visit. They added that, even if the child was now found, they would not take her back for fear of having to pay the outstanding fine.

Tang Jian, leader of Birth Control Administrative Bureau Inspection Team of Zhenyuan county apparently admitted the practice was prevalent at the time.

“It is true that some baby girls were forced be brought into the charity house and then sent abroad,” he was quoted as saying.

Other parents were less compliant when asked to give up their children. A former worker at the orphanage quoted in the report recalled one local father who tried several times to take back his daughter in 2004, even offering bribes to staff to let her go.

When this failed, he came to visit his daughter more and more often until, one day, he grabbed her, stood up and ran. “Four or five nannies surrounded him immediately and took back the baby,” the worker recalled.

Reality shows ‘eroding children’s sense of reality’

Big Brother ‘eroding children’s sense of reality’

Children’s sense of reality is being eroded by soap operas, game shows and computer games, according to a leading headmaster.

Telegraph | Jun 15, 2009

By Graeme Paton

The influence of programmes such as Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity… are leading to young people losing awareness of the challenges facing them as they grow up, it is claimed.

Robert Holroyd, head of Repton School, in Derbyshire, said teachers should encourage pupils to watch the news and read quality papers including The Daily Telegraph to provide a “reality check”.

The comments follow a survey of 800 teachers that found that the vast majority believed TV programmes had a negative effect on the behaviour of pupils.

Mr Holroyd said: “An increasing number of young people think that celebrity status is available to everyone, usually through television. Many also have the impression – generated by reality TV, computer games and soap operas – that the world beyond a small area or community has no impact on people’s lives.

“They need to understand that ‘reality television’ often shows a modified and highly influenced form of reality.”

He added: “Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity are the biggest concerns here. In a sense I want to draw a distinction between that sort of programme and some of the talent shows like Britain’s Got Talent which has at least got an element of rewarding hard work.

“At least that may make children look at their own performance and think ‘what would Amanda Holden or Simon Cowell say about me?’”

He was speaking ahead of a conference at the school, which charges up to £25,000 per year for boarders. The Global Perspective event on Thursday to Saturday for sixth-formers will feature speeches and workshops on the environment, wealth distribution and use of natural resources.

The school has already opened a second campus in Dubai for up to 1,500 international pupils.

Mr Holroyd said schools had a duty to promote awareness of global issues. This includes ensuring children are “regularly reading a good quality newspaper and listening to or watching the news or factual documentaries”.

The school encourages pupils to subscribe to broadsheet newspapers instead of magazines and limits access to the internet amid concerns over its effect on young people.

“The first thing a child often goes for when they walk into a newsagent is a corrosive magazine, particularly those marketed towards teenage girls which are packed with premature relationship issues,” he said. “What they are missing out on is the every day exposure to real life that reading a quality daily like The Daily Telegraph can give them. That’s why we encourage our pupils to read the newspapers.”

The comments follow research from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers which warned access to inappropriate TV was turning young children into “Vicky Pollards” – the rude Little Britain character known for her “Yeah-but, no-but” catchphrase.

Two thirds of those questioned said Big Brother was a bad influence on children’s behaviour with 61 per cent naming Little Britain and 43 per cent picking out EastEnders as responsible for changes in how they act.

Police target youths with no criminal record for arrest to increase DNA samples on database

Daily Mail | Jun 4, 2009

Youths with no criminal record are being targeted for arrest so their DNA can be logged on a database in the event they commit crimes.

A total of 386  under-18s had their DNA taken and stored by police last year in one north London borough – more than one a day.

An experience officer working for the Metropolitan Police admitted the DNA was being stored as part of a ‘long-term crime prevention strategy’.

The officer said: ‘We are often told that we have just one chance to get that DNA sample and if we miss it then that might mean a rape or a murder goes unsolved in the future.’

He added: ‘Have we got targets for young people who have not been arrested yet? The answer is yes.

‘But we are not just waiting outside schools to pick them up, we are acting on intelligence.

‘If you know you have had your DNA taken and it is on a database then you will think twice about committing burglary for a living. Already this year some 169 under-18s have had their profiles uploaded.’

The officer, who asked not to be named, made the astonishing admission after a Freedom of Information request reveal the startling figures in Camden in London.

LibDem parliamentary candidate for Holborn and St Pancras, Jo Shaw, obtained the figures and was shocked at the findings.

Ms Shaw said: ‘Storing the DNA of innocent people as young as 10 is unlikely to solve Camden’s crime problems, but is a costly way of stigmatising young people.

‘If you’re innocent, you shouldn’t have your data kept for years. DNA samples, which are taken by police after an arrest is made, are turned into a number known as a profile and are kept on a national database indefinitely.’

Camden’s representative at the national Youth Parliament, Axel Landin, said: ‘Building a catalogue of people they think will be prominent criminals in the future sounds like a renegade justice system.

‘Someone who is not convicted of a crime is no more guilty in the eyes of the law than someone who has never been investigated so their DNA should be destroyed.

Chief Inspector Sean Wilson, of Camden Police, said: ‘The DNA database is a nationwide one.

‘Legislation governing the recording and retention of DNA is fully adhered to by Camden Police.’

New Government proposals state that youngsters who have only been arrested once for minor offences and been found not guilty will have their DNA profiles destroyed when they reach 18.

Anger as school tells children aged five about gay issues…to the sound of Elton John

The children took part in an anti-homophobia awareness assembly

Daily Mail | Jun 6, 2009

By Laura Clark

Pupils as young as five were left ‘confused and worried’ after a school assembly to explain homosexuality.

Teachers played a recording of Elton John’s Your Song before explaining that the singer is homosexual and what the term means.

The children were then shown images of same-sex couples.

Parents said the experience left some pupils afraid to cuddle each other in the playground in case other children thought they were gay.

They have complained they were not consulted over the content of the assembly.

Although it may have been appropriate for older children, they say it left the little ones confused and self-conscious about being friends with classmates of the same sex.

When parents complained to the headmaster, they claim they were treated as ‘homophobic’ for even raising the issue.

The assembly, given to pupils aged from five to 11 at Bromstone Primary, in Broadstairs, Kent, aimed to steer them away from homophobic bullying.

It also covered bullying on the grounds of race, language and weight.

Gemma Martin, 28, whose children, Chloe, seven, and Danny, four, attend the school, said some pupils were now worried ‘about being friends with each other’.

‘Little girls often cuddle each other if one of them is crying or has fallen over, and now they are afraid to do that in case the others think they are gay,’ she said.

Michelle Cosgrove, 33, said some parents felt they were treated as homophobic just for asking why they had not been consulted about the assembly.

Her three children, Jasmine, ten, Luke, seven, and Freya, five, attend the school.

She said the example of two boys holding hands and two boys kissing was mentioned in the assembly – held the day after the International Day Against Homophobia. She found herself answering questions on homosexuality when her children raised it at home.

‘There is no way on this earth I’m homophobic – I just want the choice as a parent to talk to my children about this when the time is appropriate,’ she said.

Headmaster Nigel Utton said the 30-minute assembly contained only a small section on homosexuality which was appropriate for the age of the children.

It was part of an initiative spearheaded by Kent County Council, he said.

Other parents had approved of the assembly, he said. It had not been necessary to consult them beforehand.

‘Five-year-olds understand about relationships and about liking people,’ he said.

Kent education officer Lynne Miller said: ‘This was an assembly about bullying and parents have praised the school for its handling of such a sensitive matter.

‘Young children are exposed at a very early age to homophobic language. If language is not challenged it makes it much more difficult to address homophobic bullying in secondary schools.’

FDA weighs approval of adult psychiatric drugs for children

Officials have concerns about exposing younger patients to the drugs’ side effects.

AP | Jun 5, 2009

By MATTHEW PERRONE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three blockbuster psychiatric drugs currently approved for adults also appear to work in adolescents, though federal health officials have concerns about exposing younger patients to the drugs’ side effects.

The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing drugs from AstraZeneca PLC, Eli Lilly & Co. and Pfizer Inc. for use in patients between the ages of 10 and 17. The drugs — already approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar mania in adults — had combined sales of more than $7.4 billion last year, according to IMS Health.

FDA reviewers on Friday said they were wary of exposing youngsters to the drugs’ side effects, including weight gain and high blood sugar, “because they may be exposed for many decades.”

“These risks are of particular concern in pediatric patients because of the lifelong nature of these disorders,” FDA director for psychiatric products, Dr. Thomas Laughren, wrote in documents posted online.

The FDA released its review of the drugs ahead of a meeting Tuesday where outside experts will weigh in on the drugs’ risks and benefits. The agency is not required to follow the group’s advice, though it usually does.

Many doctors already prescribe the medications to children and adolescents, although regulators have not officially cleared that use. Physicians are free to prescribe medicines as they see fit, though companies can only promote them for FDA-approved indications.

AstraZeneca and Lilly are seeking permission to market their drugs for adolescents with schizophrenia and bipolar mania, also called manic depressive disorder. Pfizer is seeking a pediatric bipolar disorder indication for its drug.

FDA drug reviewers noted that the “safety profile of the pediatric population is very similar compared to that of the adult population.” And while there were no side effects unique to younger patients, there were differences in the frequency of the effects compared with adults.

In schizophrenia studies of Lilly’s Zyprexa, more than 30 percent of adolescents gained weight, compared with just 6 percent of adults. On average, adolescents gained nearly 10 pounds, compared with 6 pounds for adults.

Lilly is seeking FDA approval to market the drug as a second-line treatment, or a second option after other drugs have been tried.

Adolescent patients taking Pfizer’s Geodon were more likely to report sleepiness and dystonia, a movement disorder that causes muscle spasms. AstraZeneca noted higher rates of increased appetite and blood pressure among children and adolescents taking Seroquel compared with adults.

Despite concerns over the side effects, Laughren and other FDA officials acknowledged the need for additional drugs to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in teenagers and older children.

“Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are serious illnesses in pediatric patients and represent substantial burden for both patients and their families,” Laughren said.

Currently only two drugs are cleared for those uses: Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Abilify and Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal. Abilify was the second best-selling anti-psychotic drug in the U.S. last year with sales of $3 billion. Risperdal was fourth with $1.6 billion in sales.

Schizophrenia affects about 2.4 million Americans and is characterized by hallucinations, delusions and social withdrawal, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. About 5.7 million Americans experience bipolar disorder, which causes rapid mood swings and shifts in energy.

‘They stole my little girl,’ says mother judged too stupid to care for her baby

The adoption is going ahead despite a recent psychiatrist’s report which declared that the 24-year-old has ‘good literacy and numeracy and that her general intellectual abilities appear to be within the normal range’.

Daily Mail | May 31, 2009

By Andy Dolan

A young mother who was judged too stupid to care for her own baby has accused social workers of ’stealing’ the child from her.

The woman, who must be identified only as Rachel for legal reasons, is taking her case to the European Court of Human Rights in a last ditch attempt to halt the adoption of the child, now aged three.

She has told the Mail that she was bitterly unhappy with her treatment at the hands of social workers at Nottingham City Council.

Her daughter, referred to only as K, was born three months prematurely with severe medical complications. Officials felt the first-time mother lacked the intelligence to cope with the child and care for her in safety.

K was eventually discharged from hospital and given to a foster family.

But although her health has now improved to the point where she needs little or no day-to-day care, the child is due to be handed to adoptive parents within three months.

Rachel will then be barred from further contact.

The adoption is going ahead despite a recent psychiatrist’s report which declared that the 24-year-old has ‘good literacy and numeracy and that her general intellectual abilities appear to be within the normal range’.

It said the unemployed former cleaner had no previous history of learning disability or mental illness.

The single mother told the Mail that she had been ‘totally let down’ by the system.

She said: ‘Social workers and the psychologist keep saying I have got learning difficulties but I do not. They go after the wrong people. There are people out there harming children. All I want to do is look after mine but they will not let me.

‘That girl has been stolen from me. They might have stamped all the paperwork, but she has effectively been stolen from me.’

After a hearing earlier this month, a family court judge reduced her contact visits with K from 90 minutes every fortnight to five minutes a month in preparation for the adoption.

Rachel’s battle was compounded by the fact a psychologist concluded that her ‘learning difficulties’ would leave her unable to instruct her own solicitor.

As a result, Alastair Pitblado, the Official Solicitor, who acts for those who cannot represent themselves, was called in. He declined to contest the council’s adoption application, despite Rachel’s wish to do so.

She told appeal court judges last year that the Official Solicitor’s involvement had reduced her to a ’spectator’ in the case, even though she had the mental capacity to take part.

A study last year found that Rachel’s IQ was rated at 71 – the IQ of an ‘average’ adult is 90-109.

Rachel will claim at the European Court that the lack of a fair hearing and the enforced adoption has infringed her human rights.

Social workers first raised doubts about Rachel’s parenting capabilities soon after her daughter was born with chronic lung disease and other complications.

They were ‘concerned’ that she initially only visited the baby for one or two hours each day.

K was discharged from hospital aged six months into the care of the foster parents she remains with today.

The child’s father, aged 66, has no contact with his daughter and he and Rachel are no longer together.

Rachel is being supported by Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming, a vocal critic of the family justice system.

Mr Hemming, MP for Birmingham Yardley, said Rachel had been ’swept aside by a system that seems more interested in securing a child for adoption than preserving a natural family unit’.

The council wanted Rachel to remain anonymous, but she successfully argued that allowing her first name and picture to be used would allow the case to be discussed publicly.

The Daily Mail has long campaigned for greater openness in the family courts.

In February last year, Nottingham City Council conceded social workers had acted illegally in removing a baby boy two hours after his birth because no court order had been sought.

The council claimed that the mother’s troubled childhood and mental health problems threatened the baby’s welfare.

Nottingham City Council said that adoption cases were ‘decided by the courts, taking into account all the information presented by all parties and putting the future welfare of the child as the priority’.

Japanese university hands out free iPhones to track students by satellite

The attendance reporting app used by the Aoyama Gakuin university. (Credit: SoftBank)

Japanese university uses iPhone to keep tab of students

CNET | May 29, 2009

by  Dong Ngo

If American school children have to resort to some special mosquito ringtone to use cell phones at school, a university in Japan is doing the opposite: giving cell phones to students. And not just any cell phone–the iPhone 3G.

According to Asiajin, about 550 students and staff members in the School of Social Informatics at Tokyo-based university Aoyama Gakuin received the iPhone 3G for free earlier this month as part of their study materials.

Related

Japan university gives away iPhones to nab truants

This is the result of a deal that Aoyama Gakuin signed with SoftBank, the exclusive vendor of the iPhone in Japan. The number of students using the iPhone is expected to reach about 1,000. This is the first time a particular cell phone has been used on such a huge scale at a Japanese university.

The gadget will work as a study tool for students, but as it also comes with GPS, which the university plans to use to check student attendance. Truancy is a big problem in Japan, where regular attendance is an important factor in determining a student’s grade. Students often fake attendance by getting classmates to answer roll calls.

Now, with the iPhone 3G, the school plans to keep better tabs on its students. Students are allowed to use the phone for attendance reporting (but only if they are actually in the classroom, a fact that will be verifiable based on the phone’s GPS), lecture podcasting, and online examinations. A student can’t answer the roll call using the phone from any location other than the classroom.

Students can, of course, still cheat the new system by leaving their phones with fellow classmates, but this is not very likely to happen, as people tend to keep a lot of private information on their phones that they don’t want to share with others.

As for calling and data plans, the university covers the basic fee. The the hardware itself is free, but students will have to pay when they exceed downloading limits.

After suicide of 7-year-old, agency finds serious shortcomings in monitoring of foster children on psychotropic drugs

Review finds shortfalls in monitoring of foster children on psychiatric drugs

13.19 percent, are taking one or more psychotropic medications

St. Petersburg Times | May 29, 2009

By Kris Hundley

Spurred by the shocking suicide of a 7-year-old on psychiatric drugs, the agency in charge of Florida’s foster children has discovered serious shortcomings in its monitoring of kids on such powerful prescriptions.

After reviewing its files, the Department of Children and Families determined it had undercounted the number of foster kids on such medications as Risperdal and Adderall, overlooking hundreds of cases.

It also has failed to meet its legal requirement that such prescriptions be given only after parental consent or court order.

On Thursday, DCF said a review of the files of more than 20,000 children currently in the state’s foster care showed 2,669, or 13.19 percent, are taking one or more psychotropic medications.

That compares with about 4 or 5 percent of children in the general population who are on such prescriptions.

Of those foster children taking drugs, DCF discovered 16 percent had no proof either a parent or judge had signed off on the prescription, as required by a 2005 Florida law.

“That is unacceptable,” said DCF Secretary George Sheldon. “We’re going to bring every single case of a foster child on drugs into compliance with the law.”

Concerns about pediatric use of antipsychotic and antidepressants such as Adderall and Risperdal have been growing along with increased warnings of such side effects as suicide, diabetes and weight gain. Few of the drugs have been tested or approved by the FDA for children, though physicians can prescribe them for this age group.

Robin Rosenberg, a Tampa lawyer and deputy director of Florida’s Children First, said advocacy groups like hers have been fighting for oversight of psychotropic drugs for years. “We’re not as far along as we should have been if the state had followed up on serious concerns starting in the late 1990s,” she said. “It’s a shame we’re in this place today.”

Sheldon, who was named to the top job at DCF in October, left no doubt that he had been deeply affected by Gabriel Myers, the 7-year-old who hanged himself on a shower hose in South Florida in mid April. The boy was in his third foster home and on Vyvanse, a medication for ADHD, as well as Symbyax, a combination antipsychotic and antidepressant.

Though his caseworker repeatedly said Gabriel’s mother had agreed to the medications, that was not true. The boy’s psychotropic medications also had not been entered in the state’s tracking system.

To correct ongoing problems, Sheldon set a deadline of June 5 for action on cases without consent. This could include scheduling new doctors’ appointments, gaining informed consent from parents or expediting a judge’s review of the prescription.

Sheldon said he also was going to focus on the cases of 73 children under age 6 found to be on psychotropic drugs.

“I want a sense of urgency, but I also want to get it right,” he said. “I want to move forward, but I think it’s important for the agency to apologize for misinformation it may have put out in the past.”

Flaws in DCF’s record-keeping became clear in the immediate aftermath of Gabriel’s death. An initial review of the state’s database showed only 1,950 kids on psychotropic prescriptions. After a thorough review of individual records, however, that number grew by more than 700.

Preliminary data released in mid May also showed some questionable dates on judicial consent. Though it’s not inconceivable a judge might sign an order on a Saturday or Sunday, early returns showed weekend consent orders on 129 occasions.

The final database, including information on types of drugs and diagnoses, was not available Thursday. Sheldon said a summary of the drug data would be posted on the DCF Web site and updated weekly.

“I’ve got a lot more confidence in these numbers than I had two weeks ago,” he said. “But any database is only as good as the quality of the information being put into it.”

One ongoing area of concern, Sheldon said, is the validity of any consent given by parents whose kids are in the state’s custody.

“A parent whose child is taken into our care is going to sign virtually anything and that’s not informed consent,” he said. “My preference is that the biological parent have a dialogue with the psychiatrist.”

Now that DCF has a handle on the number of foster children on psychotropic drugs, Sheldon said the department can begin to address the bigger issue of the efficacy of such drugs.

He has asked an independent panel investigating Gabriel Myers’ death to make recommendations on improving DCF’s oversight of these medications. Sheldon said a second-party review of all such prescriptions might be necessary; currently, only prescriptions for kids under age 6 require such review.

DCF has set up a page on its Web site that tracks the progress of the panel investigation into the boy’s suicide. The page includes a photo of the smiling boy.

“We have his face on the screen watching us to see how well we learned from his life and death,” Sheldon said. “We cannot let him down.”

ADHD treatment causes young boys to develop female breasts

3news.co.nz | May 26, 2009

In Janssen's own clinical trials, 43 children developed the abnormal breasts

A drug used to treat ADHD children is causing concern in the United States.

It is called Risperdal and it is supposed to be used primarily for adults with sever psychological problems.

But last year it was prescribed more than 6.5 million times.

The side effects include young males developing female sex organs.

Nineteen-year-old John was just seven when he began taking Risperdal for ADD.

Even though the FDA approved the drug only for adult patients who were psychotic, John’s doctor and others widely prescribed it to kids for less severe behaviour problems.

Once taking Risperdal, John’s mum says he became aggressive, sleepy, and developed bowel problems. But the biggest shock came when he was 14 and started developing women’s breasts.

“He asked me if he was a girl,” she says.

It turns out Risperdal can increase production of a hormone called prolactin, which stimulates breast growth. It is called gynecomastia – and it is irreversible.

Risperdal and other so-called “atypical anti-psychotics” have exploded in use.

Hundreds of thousands of kids have been prescribed Risperdal in the 14 years it has been on sale – long before the FDA approved it for very limited pediatric use in 2006.

John and most of the other children were not psychotic at all, but were given Risperdal for behaviour disorders including autism and ADD.

Attorney Stephen Sheller is suing Janssen, which makes Risperdal. He claims Janssen marketed Risperdal for unapproved uses in children, downplayed serious risks like diabetes and seizures.

Janssen would not agree to an interview but told us the breast growth risk is “clearly stated in the FDA-approved” labelling, and “we only promote our products for their FDA-approved indications.”

Nobody knows how often it happens. But in Janssen’s own clinical trials with fewer than 2,000 children (1,885), 43 developed the abnormal breasts.

Mr Sheller represents John and nine other boys – one of whom was only four when he developed a breast on one side and began producing milk.

The treatment for the unbridled breast growth is as unthinkable as the disorder: painful removal of the breasts.
Eventually, the boys can appear normal again.

The family’s lawsuit is still in court.

But John’s mother says surgery did not fix all of the problems from the medicine.

When asked if John still thinks he’s a girl his mother wells up and cries before answering, “yes.”

As for Risperdal – it’s still on the market.  And families say putting even more children at risk.