A Dangerous Son

Forget these other reviews that yell about child abuse and sensationalism, this was a very disturbing look at the most innocent victims of America's failed mental health system, children. In the 1920's, America had 30,000 mental hospitals, now we have 13. I'm serious. This film shows the aspects of children under our broken system. A system where children are either forgotten, or are put on medication that either doesn't work, or makes things worse. It shows the sadness of parents who are simply told by psychologists that they don't know how to help. As a person who grew up in the 90's, during a time when kids were force-fed ADHD medications, so in my reputable opinion, this film accurately portrays the calamity of parents and kids in this sad situation.

While the film portrays things well, I feel like it didn't push hard enough. There are some serious question about the roles of parents and psychiatrists in the mental deterioration of our defenseless child. While it appears most psychologists put their hands up in the air and say "I don't know" while at the same time deliberately prescribing medications that will either make things worse, or do nothing at all. At the same time, proper guidance is not given to parents on how to deal with it correctly. So while its portrayed, it doesn't go far enough to ask why and ask what can be done, at least not as much as most HBO documentaries. So while this is a tough watch, but an important one.