PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSES AND CONCOMITANT DRUG TREATMENT IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION POPULATION

The purpose of this study was to determine the types of psychiatric disorders and the corresponding medications prescribed to children enrolled in Early Childhood Special Education Programs (ECSE) and to ascertain teacher attitudes related to this topic. Data were collected via surveys disseminated to five hundred-twenty five Early Childhood Special Education teachers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Approximately 40 % of the teachers surveyed provided information on children enrolled in their ECSE class. Two hundred and eleven (8%) children enrolled in ECSE Programs were identified as having a psychiatric disorder with 84 % of those identified receiving one or more psychiatric medications for their diagnose(s). Overall, teachers tended to agree that psychotropic medication helped students maintain control of their behavior. The more strongly teachers believed that medication aided in classroom control, the more likely children in their classes were receiving psychiatric medication. Prescriptions for psychiatric medications to treat children ages six and under have become increasingly more prominent over the past decade (Zito, Safer, dosReis, & Gardner et al., 2000). Today, young children are frequently prescribed medication to manage psychiatric disorders such as Attention Defici