Overview

As in any field of clinical or scientific endeavor, a cataloguing of the techniques and findings of behavioral pediatrics must follow shortly after the first few years of systematic work. This book has been designed to serve this initial summary function for the field. It represents a first attempt to bring together in one place the definition and scope of be- havioral pediatrics and to outline current research and treatment ap- proaches to various organic disorders, clinical settings, and problem areas in which a sufficient body of knowledge has accrued for author- itative statement. As the first text in a rapidly expanding area, our decisions regarding the topics to be covered and the contributors to this volume were guided by our desire to represent what we would consider to exemplify the field in its early development: pragmatic and thorough study of signif- icant problems from a base of sound scientific inquiry. Each of the topics addressed in the present volume develops, in a preliminary fashion, an epistemology for current practice and future study. All of the contrib- uting authors have been involved in the development of their specialty areas through their research and, importantly, through their clinical work in the hospitals affiliated with the medical schools in which they hold appointments.