RITALIN, PROZAC FOR KIDS AT ISSUE

Clinton Administration Wants To Reduce The Use Of Such Drugs

WASHINGTON - The White House will announce a major effort today to
reverse a sharp increase in the number of pre-school children using
Ritalin, Prozac and other powerful psychiatric drugs, administration
officials said Sunday.

The officials said the government will take these steps

Inform parents and teachers about the risks of such
drugs.

Have the Food and Drug Administration develop new drug
labels.

Have the National Institutes of Health begin a huge nationwide study
of Ritalin use in children under the age of 6.

Hold a White House conference this fall on the diagnosis and
treatment of mental illness in very young children.

Hillary Rodham Clinton and federal health officials plan to meet today
with parents, psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists, nurses and
social workers to discuss the issue.

Then the administration plans to issue a statement declaring that "the
use of medication is not generally the first option for a pre-school
child with a psychiatric disorder."

In a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, researchers reported an apparent sharp increase in the
number of pre-schoolers taking psychotropic drugs, particularly
stimulants like Ritalin and antidepressants like Prozac.

Dr. Steven E. Hyman, director of the National Institute of Mental
Health, said, "As a rule of thumb, doctors, psychologists and social
workers should attempt to modify the behavior of a child and deal with
family crises before drugs are prescribed."

The government has prepared a new guide for parents. "When medication
is used, it should not be the only strategy," but should be part of an
overall treatment plan, the guide says. Parents and doctors may want
to consider behavioral therapy for the child, family therapy and other
techniques, the document says.

Government scientists said they recognized that drug therapy could
sometimes provide relief to young children.

"If a kid is engaged in aggressive behavior, self-mutilation, head
banging, and is otherwise uncontrollable, you should try medication,"
Hyman said.