II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 201 

Designating September 14, 2005, as ‘‘National Attention Deficit Disorder 

Awareness Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2005 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating September 14, 2005, as ‘‘National Attention 

Deficit Disorder Awareness Day’’. 

Whereas Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (also 

known as AD/HD or ADD), is a chronic neurobiological 

disorder, affecting both children and adults, that can significantly interfere with an individual’s ability to regulate 

activity level, inhibit behavior, and attend to tasks in developmentally appropriate ways; 

Whereas AD/HD can cause devastating consequences, including failure in school and the workplace, antisocial behavior, encounters with the justice system, interpersonal difficulties, and substance abuse; 

Whereas AD/HD, the most extensively studied mental disorder in children, affects an estimated 3 percent to 7 percent (2,000,000) of young school-age children and an es-
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•SRES 201 IS

timated 4 percent (8,000,000) of adults across racial, 

ethnic, and socioeconomic lines; 

Whereas scientific studies clearly indicate that AD/HD runs 

in families and suggest that genetic inheritance is an important risk factor, with between 10 and 35 percent of 

children with AD/HD having a first-degree relative with 

past or present AD/HD, and with approximately 50 percent of parents who had AD/HD having a child with the 

disorder; 

Whereas despite the serious consequences that can manifest 

in the family and life experiences of an individual with 

AD/HD, studies indicate that less than 85 percent of 

adults with the disorder are diagnosed and less than onehalf of children and adults with the disorder are receiving 

treatment; 

Whereas poor and minority communities are particularly underserved by AD/HD resources; 

Whereas the Surgeon General, the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Psychiatric Association, the 

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 

(AACAP), the American Psychological Association, the 

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National 

Institute of Mental Health, among others, recognize the 

need for proper diagnosis, education, and treatment of 

AD/HD; 

Whereas the lack of public knowledge and understanding of 

the disorder play a significant role in the overwhelming 

numbers of undiagnosed and untreated cases of AD/HD, 

and the dissemination of inaccurate, misleading informa-
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•SRES 201 IS

tion contributes to the obstacles preventing diagnosis and 

treatment of the disorder; 

Whereas lack of knowledge, combined with the issue of stigma associated with AD/HD, has a particularly detrimental effect on the diagnosis and treatment of AD/HD; 

Whereas there is a need to educate health care professionals, 

employers, and educators about the disorder and a need 

for well-trained mental health professionals capable of 

conducting proper diagnosis and treatment activities; and 

Whereas studies by the National Institute of Mental Health 

and others consistently reveal that through proper and 

comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, the symptoms of 

AD/HD can be substantially decreased and quality of life 

for the individual can be improved: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates September 14, 2005, as ‘‘Na3 tional Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness Day’’; 

4 (2) recognizes Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity 

5 Disorder (AD/HD) as a major public health concern; 

6 (3) encourages all people of the United States 

7 to find out more about AD/HD and its supporting 

8 mental health services, and to seek the appropriate 

9 treatment and support, if necessary; 

10 (4) expresses the sense of the Senate that the 

11 Federal Government has a responsibility to– 

12 (A) endeavor to raise public awareness 

13 about AD/HD; and 
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1 (B) continue to consider ways to improve 

2 access to, and the quality of, mental health 

3 services dedicated to the purpose of improving 

4 the quality of life for children and adults with 

5 AD/HD; and 

6 (5) calls on Federal, State and local administra7 tors and the people of the United States to observe 

8 the day with appropriate programs and activities. 

Æ