Provided by David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon General of the United States of America
Chapter 3: Children and Mental Health
Overview of Mental Disorders in Children
Treatment
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) published “practice parameters” (i.e., guidelines for clinical practice) on the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. The AACAP parameters include an extensive literature review, detailed descriptions of the clinical presentation of the disorder, and recommendations for treatment. The practice parameters state that“the cornerstones of treatment are support and education of parents, appropriate school placement, and pharmacology” (AACAP, 1991). These practice parameters evolved out of research relating to two major types of treatment: pharmacological treatment and psychosocial treatment, particularly behavioral modification, as well as multimodal treatment, the combination of psychosocial and pharmacological treatments.
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