After 7-Year-Old Gabriel Myers' Suicide, Fla. Bill Looks to Tighten Access to Psychiatric Drugs

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

Gabriel Myers (Credit: Family Photo)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBS/WFOR) The apparent suicide of 7-year-old boy Gabriel Myers, who was taking several psychiatric medications, has led to the introduction of a bill in the Florida legislature, which would assure that powerful mental health drugs dispensed to Florida foster care children would be more closely monitored.

The proposal is largely based on the findings of a task force formed after Gabriel locked himself in a bathroom and hung himself with a shower cord last April.

Gabriel Myers (Credit: Family Photo)

Gabriel was on Seroquel - used to treat bipolar disorder - and other psychiatric drugs linked by federal regulators to potentially dangerous side effects, including suicide, but the risks may not have been adequately communicated to his foster parents.

The drugs are not approved for use by young children. But doctors often prescribe them 'off-label,' for purposes for which the drugs have not been approved.

Sen. Ronda Storms said prescribed drugs have replaced talk therapy and are over-prescribed to subdue unruly children. The measure would require an independent review before psychiatric drugs can be administered to children 10 or younger.

"All you do is mask the behavioral problems by treating him (psychotropically). All you're doing is putting him in a chemical straight jacket so that he can't act out so you can get him to 18 and dump him into adulthood and that's not acceptable," said Storms to CBS affiliate WFOR.

Gabriel's death prompted a statewide investigation that found 13 percent, or 2,699, of all foster children are on such drugs, according to a Department of Children and Families(DCF) study. That compares with only an estimated 4 percent to 5 percent of children in the general population.

Child advocates say the prescribing doctors often lack pertinent information on the child, including medical history and behavioral background. The bill requires caregivers and doctors to report any adverse side effects, which DCF must document.

The bill also requires children to have a mental health treatment plan that includes counseling for children prescribed such drugs.

Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate WFOR.

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by MendelPotok August 30, 2010 12:09 AM EDT: Quite frankly, I'm <a href="http://www.davescarpentryandmore.com">floor</a>ed. Why was any child under the age of 12 given any sort of psychoactive drug? That's disgusting, someone that young should never be exposed to such powerful chemicals. Therapy is one thing, but this?; Reply to this comment


by victoriagoins March 20, 2010 2:03 AM EDT: My cousin committed suicide at only 12. My close friend had a 5 year old cousin, a boy, who committed suicide and was on these drugs. It happens soo much more than you hear about. I'm glad it's finally getting some media attention. Children know what misery is, and they can feel it just as well as any adult. They know what death is--and they know how to end their own lives. Kids aren't stupid, and when these drugs force them to feel like life is not worth living, you can bet they won't have the maturity that adults have to resist the urge to kill themselves and seek help.; Reply to this comment


by mhpacbob March 18, 2010 9:40 PM EDT: Drugs, at best, are only a partial answer. Mental Illness also has a stress component. Some people have a higher chance of becoming mentally ill than others ? These people normally become mentally ill when they have been under high levels of stress (Helping People with Mental Illness A Mental Health Training Programme for Community Health Workers from: David Richards, Tim Bradshaw, Hilary Mairs; The University of Manchester, UK. November 2003.+ many other studies dating back to at least 1959) all too often doctors prescribe medications when parents or other care givers want relief from the results of sometimes poor ability to deal with their own stress. Before children are given drugs, better methods to deal with stress, including cognitive therapy and watching the video series How to Deal with Difficult People, should be given to the parents or caregivers.; Reply to this comment


by DebaterGirl March 18, 2010 7:13 PM EDT: Does a seven year old even know what "suicide" is? if he didnt know, then how (and why) did he kill himself? "Sen. Ronda Storms said prescribed drugs have replaced talk therapy and are over-prescribed to subdue unruly children," is somthing stated in this article. Drugs shouldnt replace talk therapy because we are going to have more seven year olds supposivly commiting suicide!; Reply to this comment


by noloyalisti March 18, 2010 4:55 PM EDT: Well we let the pharmaceutical corporations buy and run the government for their own profit. They could care less about human life or health. It is all about making profit, bottom line. How could we be so blind and stupid? And will we continue to let them get away with murder?; Reply to this comment

by NowBeWithThat March 18, 2010 12:04 PM EDT

This has got to be one of the saddest news reports ever.

Parents:

Think long and hard before allowing a child psychiatrist to medicate your kid.

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by SusanStoHelit March 18, 2010 3:55 PM EDT: Do think though - about both sides. It may be the drug to blame - or it may be that the drugs have been saving many other children but this one had too many problems to be solved. If there is a severe problem, the drugs DO work for a great many people - including children - help them with real problems.


by NowBeWithThat March 18, 2010 12:00 PM EDT: by taxchurches March 18, 2010 9:03 AM EDT
This is bogus. 7 year olds to not commit suicide.
________________________

Maybe not in your generation, but times have changed.

Seven year olds in our time take psychotropic drug cocktails and are exposed to more sex and violence than ever before.; Reply to this comment


by rockcutr March 18, 2010 10:18 AM EDT: So, the legal drug dealers called doctors are going to get a big guarantee from our government because they save lives. Excuse ME? Thought the first rule of medicine is to "Do no Harm". The hands off approach just doesn't seem to work so well. Doctors made my mother a prescription drug addict. These are not my favorite people. Doctors kill more people legally than Soldiers and get by with it. What a confused world we live in when 7 year old children hang themselves. This is clear manslaughter by the doctor.
This is one MD in need of a daily striped uniform.
The little man with the name of an Arch Angel is more than a sad story. This is a wake up call to health care ledgislation. The god syndrome is alive and well in hospitals and clinics across the country. Point being is the doctors do not know what the drugs are going to do nor have any idea of possible negative reactions. Could we please have manditory drug testing of all doctors Please. They must be drugged or stoned or drunk. Remember Hospitals are where people go to die, not to heal.; Reply to this comment


by queenofclubs March 18, 2010 9:21 AM EDT: I don't trust those drugs anyway and then to hear a child killed themselves because of them? Very tragic. If you ask me, we a society reach for drugs (both prescription and street) all too quickly instead of finding other ways to deal with problem. That child needed hugs, not drugs!; Reply to this comment

by taxchurches March 18, 2010 9:03 AM EDT

This is bogus. 7 year olds to not commit suicide. 7 year-olds don't even know what death is, not to mention true despair. If this kid hung himself, it was an accident during play.

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by mjb89 March 18, 2010 9:22 AM EDT: I have to agree with you. How does a 7 year old know anything about suicide or how to make it happen?


by queenofclubs March 18, 2010 9:26 AM EDT: It's a horrible thing to think about, but it's the truth. Unfortunately, there have been children as young as three who have intentionally committed suicide...and the really tragic thing here? Is chances are they saw it in movies or a TV show or maybe overheard older kids talking about it. The children of today know a lot more than children 40 years ago...and far too often such "knowledge" ends up being a dangerous thing.


by julievaras March 31, 2010 8:03 PM EDT: He might not have known what death really meant, or true despair. It could very well have been just "play." But what if society is leading young children to "experiment" with what would happen if they reenact something they saw on television? Kids don't understand what really happens when they hang/stab/shoot/hurt themselves, but its what they are constantly seeing in the media. On top of that, a doctor prescribed Seroquel to a 7 year old? In foster care?? Is that what we need to resort to now if someone can't handle a rowdy child? There may be some underlying psychiatric needs, but to start meds at 7...