Abstract
This past year, 2012, has been a watershed year for the Journal of Attention Disorders (JAD). We obtained an Impact Factor that places us in the top 25% of all psychology and psychiatry journals. We have continued to publish scholarly articles on attention disorders and related issues from contributors throughout the world. The Editorial Board continues to grow and is represented by a distinguished group of national and international faculty.
I am pleased to announce another milestone for JAD. This year JAD will become the official journal of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD). APSARD is the first international organization based in the United States to focus exclusively on ADHD. ADHD is a complex and serious neurodevelopmental condition that affects individuals throughout the life span. APSARD’s goal is to improve the quality of care for individuals with ADHD through the exchange of research, best practices, and evidence-based insights. APSARD’s work focuses on the development of clinical practice guidelines addressing diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of ADHD across the life span. APSARD hosts an annual scientific meeting featuring research from throughout the world.
JAD and APSARD is a perfect match given APSARD’s mission and JAD’s mandate to publish theoretical and applied science dealing with all aspects of the condition throughout the life span. As the leading journal worldwide in the publication of scientific articles dealing with ADHD and related conditions, JAD is an ideal flagship for APSARD. APSARD offers JAD an expanded network of peer reviewers, an issue that has become paramount in the timely review of articles submitted as JAD has grown. JAD will also be adding three distinguished APSARD members as Associate Editors, Drs. Joseph Biederman, Leonard Adler, and Scott Kollins.
An estimated 276,000 health care professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and pediatricians are potentially responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of approximately 7 million individuals diagnosed with ADHD in the United States alone. An additional 140,000 office-based primary care physicians will at some point in their career be faced with diagnosing and treating individuals with ADHD. Given the breadth and scope of this challenge, APSARD was formed to fill the need for expanded professional education and guidance, to improve patients’ quality of care throughout their life span. APSARD is dedicated to filling the voids in education about ADHD. As such, JAD serves as an ideal forum for peer-reviewed, clinically oriented research covering the latest advances in ADHD.
Dr. Anthony Rostain, Current President, and the APSARD Board would like to extend an invitation to JAD readers and invite all allied mental health professionals committed to the scientific and therapeutic study of ADHD to join APSARD and benefit from the comprehensive resources and information forums aimed to improve knowledge of ADHD and patients’ quality of care. To learn more about APSARD and to apply for membership, please visit their website at www.apsard.org