No Control on Use of Powerful Drugs in New York State Facilities for the Disabled

A couple of days ago the New York Times ran a fascinating, and disturbing article about the use of psycho-active drugs in New York State facilities for the disabled. The findings in New York are probably replicated all over the country.

This article is part of a series written by New York Times reporter Danny Hakim began recently about conditions for the disabled in New York. Much of the reporting documents the conditions in New York State facilities that activists Michael and Lisa Carey have been trying to change for years.

Here is the beginning of the article:

Something was happening to Katie Strignano.

After she was moved into a state-run group home, the 26-year-old woman, who is severely mentally retarded, started gaining weight, drooling, breaking out in pimples and pulling out her hair, leaving a bald spot the size of a softball on her head.

Her mother, Debra Strignano, suspected that someone had increased her daughter’s medication without her family’s consent.

When she asked for a copy of a consent form she had once signed for her daughter, she discovered it had been altered, tripling the daily dosage of Clonidine, which is used to control attention deficit disorder. The drug, and four others her daughter was taking, have myriad potential side effects, including rapid weight gain, skin rashes and drowsiness.

In response to questions from The New York Times, state officials said they would investigate how the consent form was changed and whether Katie Strignano was receiving the appropriate dose of medication.

Read the rest of the article at this URL:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/nyregion/potent-pills-few-rules-in-states-treatment-of-the-disabled.html?_r=2&sq=danny%20hakim&st=cse&scp=5&pagewanted=print
or
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/nyregion/potent-pills-few-rules-in-states-treatment-of-the-disabled.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=danny%20hakim&st=cse