Who is Eli Holt? TikToker slams school for giving teen son anti-depressants without his knowledge
A father has expressed his surprise and annoyance at his 15-year-old son's high school authorities for giving the teen antidepressants without his knowledge. In a viral TikTok video, Eli Holt revealed how the high school counselor called him to inform that his child had not picked up his medications at the end of the school year.
In the video, Holt declares, "I said, 'Hes not on anti-depressants. What are you talking about? My kid is not depressed.' They proceed to tell me they had a psychiatrist come to the school and give my kid antidepressants and he’s been on them for several months. I had no knowledge." According to Holt, whose child attends a high school in Snohomish, Washington, it is completely legal for schools to treat teenagers without informing the parents, according to his research. This is true according to Washington State law.
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Any minor who is 13 years old or older is permitted to receive treatment for mental illness, substance abuse, or withdrawal management without parental consent in several states, including Washington. The Adolescent Behavioral Health Care Access Act, which the Washington Legislature passed into law in 2019, "gives parents and providers more leverage in treating a young person who won't or can't independently seek medical help for mental illness and/or substance use disorder." However, an adolescent is not prohibited by the law from obtaining treatment on their own. Holt responds to some of the viewers' most relevant questions in a subsequent video.
"Number one, if they're giving a child prescription in your home you should know, period," he asserts. He goes on to say that the only circumstance in which he would comprehend if the school did not contact him was if the child was subject to abuse or was in danger.
"Number three, what if I was allowing him to have a glass of wine at dinner? Not that I am but what if I was. What if he had a heart murmur, what if he was allergic to medications like that?" he claims. According to Holt, his son withheld the information because he believed Holt already knew. "Number four, it's not their kid to give a prescription to," he continues. "And I wholeheartedly believe that they should've told me."
Since it was published on July 1, Holt's initial video has received over 285,000 views. In the comments, many users questioned whether the law excluded parents or served the interests of teenagers. One person wrote, "If you gave him another medication that would interact with what the school gave him it could have been lethal! The schools should not be allowed."
"I would be livid. they have no right to just prescribe medication to children. if they thought there was an issue and he needed them they should have," another person remarked.
However, many people believed that the advantages of the law justified a parent's naivety. "This law helped my niece. She suffers from depression and couldn't get help because her mom didn't want her to because she didn't want anyone knowing," one person claimed.
"While I understand being upset cause you didn't know! this will help a lot of kids whose families don't believe in kids being depressed," another person wrote.
When evaluating the rates of mental illness and availability of services in each state, Washington comes in at number 43, according to Mental Health America, reported Daily Dot. According to the ranking, compared to higher-ranked states, Washington has a "higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care."