Psychotropic Medications

Matthias Kendle has been kicked out of several schools. He has a mental disorder known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Schwarz, 2014). Due to this medical issue, Matthias attacks children and confronts teachers. As a result, he is no longer welcome in a few schools. His desperate parents wanted him to be a normal child. On the other hand, his parents are also torn between taking care of their children and following their own dreams. It is important to consider the socio-economic background of Matthias Kendle in order to understand how to resolve the issue. If the parents are trying to build a career, then the decision on how to use psychotropic medication can affect their outlook.

Going back to the issue of Matthias’ ADHD, it is imperative to find a cure as soon as possible. In the current environment, Matthias takes a stimulant called Adderall. It is a common medication used to control the effects of ADHD. However, due to the worsening problems of Matthias, his parents are considering adding another potent medication called Risperdal.

Adderall is a powerful psychotropic drug because two of its main ingredients are amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. One has to wonder what amphetamine is doing in a drug for ADHD. It turns out that these two chemicals affect the central nervous system and the chemicals in the brain. They target the substances in the brain and the nervous system that control hyperactivity and impulse control.

Warning signs are evident considering the side effects of the said drug. The researchers monitoring these types of drugs do not advise to prescribe Adderall if the patient suffers from severe anxiety, agitation, or if there is a personal history of Tourette’s syndrome (“Adderall: Usage, Dosage, and Side Effects”, 2014). One has to wonder why researchers prohibit patients who are anxious to take a drug that affects the brain and the nervous system. Will it increase the depression of the person? Therefore, one can assume that this drug alters the behavior of patients by making them more docile. This is probably the reason why healthcare professionals do not allow people who are already struggling with depression to take Adderall, since it will increase the level of melancholy.

Risperdal, or Risperdone, is an example of an antipsychotic medicine. It uses the same mode of medication as Adderall in that it alters the functions of chemicals in the brain. It is commonly used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is also popular in autistic children to treat extreme irritability. Risperdal is not advisable for adults with dementia. It is known to be the cause of death among adult patients with dementia.       

Research Method

It is important to find out if Adderall or Risperdal can help children function normally, thus determining whether taking two drugs simultaneously is better than taking one. But the basis of the experiment is the case study on Matthias. In order to acquire the needed information in the shortest time possible, the research subjects must be male first grade students. They have to be 7 years old to participate in the said experiment.

The researcher must select appropriate participants on the basis of age, gender, and race. The first three groups must resemble Matthias’ age, gender, and ethnic background. The fourth group acts as a control and these children must be of the same age and gender. However, they must belong to different ethnic backgrounds. It is impossible to get the needed approval from parents. Therefore, the experiment will require the help of the government to seize control of orphanages. It is an unethical experiment procedure, but it will help to prove a major point that it is harmful to use this type of psychotropic or psychotic medication on children. In the end, the experiment will initiate the discussion that these drugs must be carefully regulated. But the end goal is to modify the drugs so that its side effects can be lowered.

The experimenters must prep the first three groups of orphans for the first round of clinical trials. Each group should consist of 5 members. The researchers will use qualitative research techniques. The primary goal is to determine the impact of the drugs used through a careful observation of children. The researchers will ask them to perform certain actions while multiple cameras record their movements and words. They will be living inside a facility where experimenters will monitor their every step.

Another major component of the experiment is to interview the selected orphans to figure out how they feel and how they are reacting to the medication. The first two groups will take Adderall in increasing volumes. The third group will be tested for placebo effects. They will be taking pills that do not contain any type of active ingredients. The fourth group will also take the same type of medication as Group A and B. However, Group D’s members are children that belong to different ethnic groups. In the end, the experimenters will find out if those who belong to a different ethnic group as Matthias are significantly different in terms of tendency to suffer from the medication under research.

In the first round of clinical trials, the test subjects from Group A, B, and D will receive the regular amount of medicines that Matthias is currently taking. The researchers will monitor their actions and reactions for three months and then carefully analyze them. After three months, the experimenters will double the dosage for the next three months. A team of specialists, counselors, and psychiatrist will interview the selected test subjects. They will monitor their behavior and observe them by reviewing video footages of the children while they are interacting with others and when they are about to go to bed.

After six months, the researchers will double the amount of medication the orphans received on the 3^rd month again. Therefore, the amount ingested will be four times greater than Matthias has been consuming. The purpose of this action is to prove the hypothesis that Adderall’s main goal is to alter the behavior of the children by making them less active. The unintended effect is lethargy. Since ADHD sufferers like Matthias are hyperactive, the induced lethargy created by the drug seems to cancel out the hyperactivity of the child. However, if to increase dosages, the children are predicted to behave like catatonic individuals. They resemble people from horror movies; they behave like the walking dead. In other words, they will not exhibit hyperactive movement and speech. However, they will never behave as normal children because they will experience depression. The experimenter predicts that the drugs did not treat the problem of ADHD correctly. The only effect of the additional drug is to induce a certain type of lethargy. If the end result of the experiment will reveal that the children exhibit signs of clinical depression, then it will prove that the drug Adderall was utilized to alter behavior by inducing a feeling of lethargy. It is interesting to know the long-term side effects as well.

After 3 months of no medication taken in order to clean up the internal systems of the children, the second experiment will be conducted. This time, the children will receive increasing dosages of Risperdal. The hypothesis of the experimenter is that Risperdal is a mood altering drug like Adderall, but it is more potent because it does not only induce lethargy; it actually alters or blocks certain receptors in the brain.

It can be argued that children belonging to the same age group as Matthias do not need the more potent Risperdal. The experimenter predicts that that the end results of the research process will prove that Adderall is not an effective drug to combat ADHD. Nevertheless, it is less potent and its long-term side effects are not as damaging as Risperdal. The assumption is based on the fact that improper use of Risperdal can cause deaths in adults. Therefore, children belonging to the same age group and ethnic background must stay away from Risperdal. Although, Adderall is seen as impotent when it comes to dealing with the root cause of ADHD, it is the only viable Western medicine available in the market. If Adderall induces a certain type of lethargy to counter the effect of ADHD, then the practical solution is to double the dosage. The proponent of the study must recommend a follow study wherein children from different age groups and different backgrounds are tested using the same research method.