|
June 12, 2000
Beverly Malone, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 716G
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Dr. Malone:
I am writing on behalf of the 159,000 members and affiliates of the
American Psychological Association (APA) to commend your efforts and
those of the Surgeon General in coordinating the upcoming national
conference on Children’s Mental Health to be held in September. This
conference will help to shed light on the critical issues involved in
the identification and treatment of children with mental disorders and
will no doubt lead to improvements in service delivery.
Given your lead involvement with the conference, I would like to take
this opportunity to provide you with a copy of testimony on children and
Ritalin, which APA recently submitted for the May 16th
hearing record of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. The
statement expresses concern about the recent increase in the use of
psychotropic medication with young children, while noting the importance
of an understanding of early childhood development, the rendering of
proper diagnoses by qualified professionals, and the effectiveness of
psychological interventions. Also enclosed is a copy of my recent
correspondence to the First Lady regarding the scope of the upcoming
conference and critical issues to be addressed. The attachment offers a
list of 11 psychologist experts in the field of child mental health and
includes contact information for them and for the presidents of seven
relevant APA divisions (including Developmental and Child-Clinical
Psychology).
With respect to the scope of the conference, APA supports the broad
focus on child mental disorders, beyond attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder, as reflected by the questions posed in recent correspondence
and on your Web site. It is vital that a balanced investigation be
undertaken of the effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological
interventions with young children. The increasing reliance on the latter
is particularly problematic given the lack of follow-up data regarding
possible short- and long-term adverse effects of psychotropic medication
with children under six years of age. We also hope to see concerted
attention directed to prevention and mental health promotion efforts,
for which research is sorely lacking.
In light of our members’ impressive research and clinical
experience with young children in school, primary care, and other
clinical settings, APA, and the field of psychology, have much to
contribute to a close examination of these issues, as will be achieved
by the upcoming conference. Accordingly, we welcome the opportunity to
work with you and your office in its development. Paula Trubisky of our
Science Policy staff is coordinating our association efforts for the
upcoming conference and can be reached at (202) 336-5585.
Sincerely,
L. Michael Honaker, Ph.D.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Back to Top^
|