"Vulnerable children under the care of the Romanian state are up to 15 times more likely to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, than other Romanian children, sparking fears that some are being prescribed drugs to subdue challenging behaviour," says this article from Balkan Insight. According to the article, six mental health professionals have told the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) of their concerns that children in state care in Romania are being misdiagnosed with ADHD and prescribed unnecessary medications that could cause damage to their physical and mental health. These concerns are bolstered by a recent case under investigation in Bucharest in which a doctor allegedly prescribed unnecessary medications to children “in order to reduce their [children’s] possibilities to act and to express themselves, and in order to make it easier for the employees to supervise the children”, according to the arrest warrant. BIRN also found that workers in state institutions in Romania were asking doctors to prescribe psychoactive medications for the children in their care.
