A Chemical
Strait-Jacket
Major tranquillisers were designed in the 1950s to control the extreme symptoms of schizophrenia and paranoia. But they are now also widely used in Britain to prevent difficult behaviour in children with mental disabilities - a use described by critics as a "chemical strait-jacket".
In the US the prescription of such tranquillisers for children is strictly controlled because their side effects can be devastating and there are alternative treatments.
Barbara Altounyan reports. Producer Tricia Lawton Editor Harry Dean