Fabrizio Costantini Photography

n/aMichael Igafo-Te’o age 11 from Jackson, MI - takes four medications: an antipsychotic, an anticonvulsant, an antidepressant and a sleep medicine, throws a tantrum during time-out for swearing and fighting with his father, because he didn’t buy him an ice cream sandwich at a video store. The treatment for his hyperactive, erratic and destructive behavior commonly effects the patients weight and ability to sleep.Anya Bailey age 15 from East Grand Forks, MN who, when suffering from anorexia at 12, was prescribed an antipsychotic developed for use in adult schizophrenia, and not approved for children. She developed dystonia as an effect of the drug, a chronic painful condition that makes her back muscles constantly clench. The antipsychotic drugs prescribed by her doctor, are produced by a company which pays him handsomely to give speeches. Also pictured is her mother Isabella Bailey.Jacob Meszaros age 14 from Sharpsville, PA returning from school to a cocktail of four different psychiatric medications he takes along with his brother, Stephen Meszaros age 15 to treat their multiple diagnoses which include bipolar disorder. The parents are left with the ultimatum of either medicating their boys, or transferring them to special education classes in a different school.Katherine Finn age 14 from Grand Rapids Township, MI who was misdiagnosed and medicated for ADHD but now is being undergoing treatment and medication for bipolar disorder. Katherine, who used to go through severe depressions, and also cut herself now is much more confident with life and her relationships.Katherine Finn age 14 from Grand Rapids Township, MI and her mother Kristin are both diagnosed and take similar medication for bipolar disorder. Many psychiatrists believe that, although childhood bipolar disorder may be real in families like the Finns, it is being wildly overdiagnosed. One of the largest continuing surveys of mental illness in children, tracking 4,500 children ages 9 to 13, found no cases of full-blown bipolar disorder and only a few children with the mild flights of excessive energy that could be considered nascent bipolar disorder — a small fraction of the 1 percent or so some psychiatrists say may suffer from the disease.Jacob Meszaros age 14 from Sharpsville, PA shooting his air soft pistol in the woods behind his house. takes Focalin XR for concentration, the anticonvulsant Depakote to moderate his moods, the antipsychotic Risperdal to reduce anger and the antihypertensive Catapres to induce sleep. He and his brother are among the smallest in their class.Anya Bailey is among a growing number of children given antipsychotic drugs by doctors who are paid by the makers of those drugs. Created for schizophrenia, Risperdal is not approved to treat eating disorders, but increased appetite is a common side effect and doctors may prescribe drugs as they see fit. Anya gained weight but within two years developed a crippling knot in her back. She now receives regular injections of Botox to unclench her back muscles. She often awakens crying in pain.The Doctor who prescribed a powerful antipsychotic drug called Risperdal for Anya Bailey to treat an eating disorder received more than $7,000 from 2003 to 2004 from Johnson & Johnson, Risperdal’s maker, in return for lectures about one of the company’s drugs. Doctors, including Anya Bailey’s, maintain that payments from drug companies do not influence what they prescribe for patients.Stephen Meszaros age 15 from Sharpsville, PA takes the antidepressants Zoloft and Desyrel for depression, the anticonvulsant Lamictal to moderate his moods and the stimulant Focalin XR to improve concentration. Over the last three years, Stephen and his brother, Jacob have been prescribed 28 different psychiatric drugs.Peter Popczynski age 10 from Cheektowaga, NY hasn’t used mood-altering medication in two years since he and his parents went through an intensive ADHD Summer Treatment Program at the University of Buffalo. Since the treatment, the family has successfully adapted to alternative means of behavior modification free of mood altering drugs for their developing children. “I come up here sometime when I want to be alone,” said Peter.A dry erase board in the kitchen of the Van de Wal family in Tonawanda, NY. TJ takes generic Ritalin at school and now also at his current after school program, his fourth after being kicked out each time prior while his single mother, Dawn Van de Wal age 36 of Tonawanda, NY works to support her three children.Anthony “TJ” Van de Wal age 7 of Tonawanda, NY jumps throughout house playing.Dawn Van de Wal, a single mother of three near Buffalo, said that over the last six months she has learned to contain and redirect the behavior of her exuberant 7-year-old, TJ, who has received a diagnosis of attention-deficit disorder. TJ can still become extremely frustrated when required to sit for long periods and concentrate on schoolwork, in the absence of his mother.Michael Igafo-Te’o age 11 from Jackson, MI - Pleas with his father not to make him take a bath as he climbs the stairs. He has kicked and punched holes in almost every wall of the Igafo-Te’o home. He wrenched the sink off the wall in the upstairs bathroom and pulled two bedroom doors off their hinges, damaging the frames. The family no longer fixes the damage. Michael takes four medications: an antipsychotic, an anticonvulsant, an antidepressant and a sleep medicine.Lucas Keck age 6 and Allen Kehoe from Sharpsville, PA - Lucas is expected to begin taking similar medications shortly like his older brothers, Jacob and Stephen Meszaros age 14 and 15 who currently take a cocktail of four different psychiatric medications to treat their multiple diagnoses which include bipolar disorder.