The Child Advocate

ParentsMedGuide.org Resource

Coalition Launches ParentsMedGuide.org:

"Helping Parents Help Their Kids"

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005

Washington, D.C. – Today a large coalition of medical and family/patient advocacy

organizations launched ParentsMedGuide.org, a new resource center for parents of

children and adolescents with depression. A focal point of the Web site is a fact sheet

called "The Use of Medication in Treating Childhood and Adolescent Depression:

Information for Patients and Families" – practical advice for parents that has been

endorsed by more than a dozen national organizations, including:

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

• American Psychiatric Association

The guides and the site will be updated on an ongoing basis with the latest scientific and

medical research. They are being launched as new data suggest the number of children

receiving treatment that includes antidepressant medication continues to decline.

"The evidence clearly suggests that the FDA’s action regarding the black box warning is

already having a dramatic effect on prescribing patterns across the country," said Dr.

Fassler. "As a result, many children are losing access to effective and appropriate

treatment."

The ParentsMedGuide.org coalition convened for the first time in November 2004 as a

work group sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association and the American

Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The Parent Guide can be found on the