The District will be sending its Toolkit – “Feelings Need Check Ups, Too” – to the Connecticut AAP Chapter. In addition, AAP President Thomas McInerny has issued the following response:
As pediatricians, I know that each of you is deeply saddened by last week’s school shooting in Connecticut, and firmly believes that children deserve a safe environment in which to grow and learn. I know, too, that you share my heartfelt desire to respond as strongly and actively as possible. These incidents are always horrific, but the fact that young children were the victims in this case makes us even more passionate about trying to prevent such tragedies in the future.
I want to assure you that a team of AAP leaders and staff has been working since the news of the tragedy broke to respond and provide information and resources to our members and the public, and to identify next steps in our continuing advocacy for improved safety and mental health for infants, children, adolescents and young adults. We are focusing on three main areas of action, information and communication:
1) Helping children and families (and pediatricians) in aftermath of traumatic events;
2) Reinforcing our commitment to strengthening preventive and treatment mental health for children and youth; and
3) Reiterating and advocating for our firm commitment to firearm safety as per policy.
Immediate response: On Friday, both AAP.org and HealthyChildren.org featured resources specific to disaster response, school shootings, and talking with children in times of crisis. Those resources are available at http://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/AAP-Offers-Resources-to-Help-Parents,-Children-and-Others-Cope-in-the-Aftermath-of-School-Shootings.aspx. It includes a special section on talking with children, which has been featured prominently in the media over the weekend. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Talking-to-Children-About-Disasters.aspx. This list of resources also contains a link to the AAP policy on firearm injuries published in October 2012, which includes a call for restoration of the ban on the sale of assault weapons to the general public. In addition to the resources gathered on HealthyChildren.org, guidance for pediatricians, parents, and teachers can be found at http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Children-and-Disasters/Pages/Talking-to-Children-About-Disasters.aspx.
Also on Friday, through its Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council (DPAC), the AAP connected the federal response team to the AAP Connecticut Chapter leaders, to ensure that pediatricians’ viewpoint and expertise were reflected in efforts to help children. AAP leaders also offered support to the Chapter as members’ needs are identified.
Media response: Beginning on Friday and through today, AAP spokespersons have contributed to stories in the Associated Press, USA Today, Denver Post, New York Daily News, the Boston Globe, and on NPR, as well as in social media. Dr. David Schonfeld, DPAC member, has been interviewed for many media stories following the shooting and has briefed other pediatricians who have been responding to requests from the media and others. AAP past president Dr. Judy Palfrey wrote a piece for the Boston Globe. Dr. Dan Fagbuyi, member of DPAC and the Council on Communications and Media (COCM), was interviewed by NPR and participated in a Facebook chat hosted by USA Today, advising parents on how to talk with their children about this event, and the importance of shielding them from extensive media coverage over the weekend. Dr. Alanna Levine appeared on an episode of the Dr. Oz show yesterday about talking with children after tragic events. Today a story in TIME magazine features immediate past president Dr. Bob Block. COCM members also blogged about this topic: Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe for Parenting magazine; Dr. Claire McCarthy blogged for Boston.com; and Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson for Seattle Children’s Hospital. More AAP experts will be interviewed and quoted in the days to come.
President’s message: On Friday, I issued a statement that was disseminated via Web, social media and the AAP media mailing list as well as to the staff and leadership. This message was picked up by many television news programs as coverage of the shooting unfolded.
Community support: Dr. David Schonfeld traveled to Newtown, CT to meet with Sandy Hook elementary school staff, teachers/staff in the school district, pediatricians, mental health professionals and others in a position to help children to provide “just-in-time” training and support. Members interested in accessing relevant training can access “Supporting Children’s Mental Health Needs in the Aftermath of a Disaster: Pediatric Pearls” at http://adph.org/ALPHTN/index.asp?id=5276
The Connecticut chapter has communicated the following:
The CT Chapter of the AAP has been working since Saturday morning to coordinate efforts to help wherever and whenever possible. We have been in contact with those directly involved, including the Newtown School Medical Advisor, the Governor’s office, and chapter members. The generous response from our members has been heartwarming. They have offered their time, their expertise and their love. We know we need to take care of the affected families, all the children of the Newtown community, and our members who live and take care of children there.
The CTAAP has a close, on-going collaborative relationship with the CT Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. There was an email sent to members of both organizations on Saturday asking for volunteers. We received over 150 responses within 24 hours. The CTAAP members will be working with mental health colleagues for the next weeks, months and sadly, probably years.
We wish to thank all of our AAP colleagues from across the country who have sent messages of support and offers of help. We all appreciate it more than you can imagine.
Policy and advocacy: The AAP statement on Firearm-Related Injuries in the Pediatric Population, published in October, is central to advocacy moving forward on this issue. The AAP supports reinstatement of the ban on assault weapon sales, a ban on the sales of high capacity magazines, mandatory waiting periods and background checks for all gun purchases and other strict gun control policies. The statement can be accessed at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/105/4/888.full.pdf+html?sid=09126d90-ed5c-4372-ae30-6a3434f2db49
AAP leadership and staff are working closely with partner organizations to raise the voice of the nation’s pediatricians in the nation’s Capitol and among state legislatures. We will also join in coalition with child advocacy organizations, including the Brady Center, to ensure that appropriate legislation is developed to promote the safety of children. We also will focus on legislation, funding and policy recommendations that support community mental health systems; respond quickly to ameliorate toxic stress; and reduce media portrayals and reporting of violence.
Member support: As noted, AAP.org and Healthychildren.org are excellent starting points for information and resources. In addition, I am providing as attachments to this e-mail several sets of speaking points we have prepared for members on firearm injury prevention, school safety, and mental health (including toxic stress). With the addition of violent media entertainment and the media’s reporting of violent events, these are the main areas in which our information and advocacy efforts are centered.
Longer term response: The AAP is in the process of identifying representatives from key AAP Committees, Councils, and Sections to assist AAP leaders to identify appropriate short- and long-term recovery strategies when there has been a school shooting.
I know that many of you have thoughts and ideas about what you would like the AAP response to include. If you have suggestions for our longer term plan, please send them to Associate Executive Director Roger Suchyta, MD, FAAP, at rsuchyta@aap.org with the subject line: INPUT FOR SCHOOL SAFETY.
I want to emphasize that support for the children, families and school community of Newtown remains a priority, and we will stay in close touch with the Connecticut AAP chapter.
Tomorrow I will send a message to all AAP members, which will include this update as well as a template letter-to-the-editor that they can personalize and send to their local media in an effort to advocate for children.
The AAP will continue to disseminate updates and resources in response to this situation as needed.
Those who care for children will continue to look for ways to comfort, support, nurture and protect them. We call on all decision makers to do the same. At this time, we urge continued support and vigilance for the well-being of the Newtown, CT community.
We know that there are many AAP members and colleagues who have worked tirelessly to protect children and prevent future tragedies. Thank you to the entire AAP community for pulling together to respond to this event in the best way possible.
From: Thomas K. McInerny, MD, FAAP
President
Physicians of the Massachusetts Medical Society have produced a series of 10 brochures to help parents identify and deal with a range of topics on youth violence, including bullying, dating and street violence, violence in the media, and child sexual abuse. They are available free to parents, educators, youth counselors, or others who work with children and youth.
Originated by Robert D. Sege, M.D., Ph.D. and developed by the Medical Society’s Committee on Violence Intervention and Prevention, the current publications are updated versions of a previous series and contain information from a variety of sources, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and Massachusetts Citizens for Children. They are written by experts in the field of youth violence.
Elliot Pittel, M.D., M.P.H., chair of the Society’s Committee on Violence Intervention and Prevention and a psychiatrist at The Home for Little Wanderers in Boston, called attention to the severity of the problem.
“Violence or abuse affecting children occurs in far too many places – in the home, at school, on the street, online, in relationships – and has enormous effects on physical and mental health,” said Dr. Pittel, “and we see the results all too often in headlines and news reports. Physicians can play a major role in addressing the needs of hurt and injured children by screening for violence as an essential part of every visit to the doctor.”
“The aim of these publications,” said Dr. Sege, who is Director of the Division of Family and Child Advocacy at Boston Medical Center and Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, “is to reach beyond the physician’s office, to educate parents and those who care for children with expert, practical information, first to prevent violence, and then, when and if it does occur, to intervene appropriately. Parents and their children’s health care providers must be allies in trying to keep children safe.”
The series includes ten titles:
- Raise Your Child With Praise: Tips for Parents with Two- to Five-Year-Olds (.pdf, 8 pages)
- Pulling the Plug on Media Violence: Facts and Tips for Parents (.pdf, 4 pages)
- When Children Witness Violence in the Home: Helping Children Cope (.pdf, 8 pages)
- Bullying Prevention: When Your Child is the Victim, the Bully or the Bystander (.pdf, 12 pages)
- Street Violence: Your Child Has Been Hurt – What You Can Do (.pdf, 8 pages)
- Some Myths & Facts About Violence (.pdf, 8 pages)
- Dating Violence: What Parents Need to Know (.pdf, 8 pages)
- Protecting Your Child From Sexual Abuse (.pdf, 12 pages)
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Protecting Your Child From Gun Injury (.pdf, 8 pages)
The brochures may be downloaded free at www.massmed.org/violence. Printed copies may be ordered individually or in sets from the Medical Society by writing to dph@mms.org or calling 1-800-322-2303, Ext. 7373.
The publications are part of the Society’s Campaign Against Violence, co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance. Other materials in the effort are two guides for health care professionals, both also free via download from the society’s website.