When you consider that 10 million children under the age of 18, including a growing number of preschoolers, are on anti-depressants and another 7 million are on stimulants for attention problems, it becomes obvious why Dr. Elliott has written this guide for parents who feel "they have no choice." As an international expert on psychiatric disorders in children and a leading researcher on the effects of psychiatric drugs on kids, Dr. Elliott says that doctors and teachers are too quick to recommend medicating young minds rather than taking the steps needed to find out if drugs are even necessary. Medicating Young Minds tells parents everything they need to know--the questions to ask, the kind of treatment they deserve to get from a concerned doctor, what tests to demand to make sure that drugs are the best recourse, and how to deal with issues at school. Parents do have a choice, says Dr. Elliott, and this book empowers them to make their own decisions with confidence. The long-term consequences of putting kids on psychiatric drugs are still unknown, and Medicating Young Minds will be of critical interest to all parents, teachers, and doctors concerned with the welfare of children.

Glen R. Elliott, M.D., Ph.D., is director of the Children's Center at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute in San Francisco and a leading expert on behavioral problems in children. He has a doctorate degree in psychopharmacology and has published dozens of studies on psychiatric drugs and adolescents. He is frequently featured in the media as an expert commentator on this issue, including a 2003 cover story in Time magazine, "Are We Giving Kids Too Many Drugs?" He lives in San Francisco.