Specific Psychopharmacological Approaches and Rationale for Mentally Ill-Mentally Retarded Children

More than 20 years after their introduction, the use of psychotropic medications for psychotic children, particularly retarded children, remains somewhat controversial. Several factors appear to contribute to this controversy. These include a tendency toward unpredictability in response that is an especial problem in children with organic dysfunction; examples of abuses of these medications, particularly through excessive use; and the inherent, but often poorly understood, limitations of any pharmacological intervention.