2000 Symposium, What Do Boys Need
Speakers: James Gabarino, Ph.D., Dr. Daniel Kindlon

Friday, November 10, 2000
Greensboro, NC

On Friday, November 10, 2000, the North Carolina Medical Society Alliance sponsored "What Boys Need", a three hour symposium featuring nationally recognized leaders in the area of boys at risk. The symposium was a tremendous success and our speakers had a standing room only crowd of physicians, physician spouses, educators, law enforcement personnel and others.

We are extremely proud to announce that one of our featured presenters was James Garbarino, Ph.D., director of the Just For Kids! program. He is an internationally recognized expert in child abuse issues, with special expertise in psychological maltreatment. He is the author or editor of sixteen books and has been honored by groups such as the American Psychological Association, the American Humane Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics for his work on behalf of abused and neglected children. In addition to authoring The Psychologically Battered Child, Dr. Garbarino has written a booklet on emotional abuse distributed by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, and has co-authored Assault on the Psyche, a video program that examines psychological maltreatment.

Dr. Garbarino's most recent book is entitled, "Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them" in which Dr. Garbarino attempts to help parents truly understand youth violence and how to stop it before it explodes. Dr. Garbarino reveals how to identify children who are at risk and offers proven methods to prevent aggressive behavior.

According to one reviewer:
A tide of fatal shootings is sweeping our country. In LOST BOYS, Garbarino takes a clear, compassionate look at violent boys, draws conclusions about how they came to be that way and suggests what we, as a society, can do to identify and help them. The book opens with Garbarino personally introducing himself and offering a moving testimony relating to the lost boys he describes. His voice is quiet, professional and caring. He speaks about himself and about boys who commit murder and mayhem at places like Columbine High School. The remainder of the book is read clearly, slowly and calmly by Cotter Smith. A great deal of thought went into the abridgment and production of the book. The publishers have chosen to have a female voice speak the chapter headings, which is a helpful organizational tool. All in all, this is an excellent, timely production that will be of interest to parents, educators and citizens.

Our other featured presenter was Dr. Daniel J. Kindlon, co-author of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. Dr. Kindlon is a clinical and research psychologist specializing in the behavioral problems of children and adolescents. He holds joint assistant professorships in the Psychiatry Department of the Harvard Medical School and the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, where he is engaged in teaching and research.

Dr. Kindlon has been in clinical practice for the past fourteen years focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of emotional problems, learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. For the past twelve years he has also been the psychological consultant to an independent school in Boston for boys in grades 7-12.

With Michael Thompson, Ph.D., Dr. Kindlon is coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. Drawing on their combined 35 years' experience working with boys and their families, the authors explore how our culture socializes and miseducates boys to disregard their emotional lives.
Kindlon and Thompson believe that boys suffer from a narrow definition of masculinity imposed on them by our culture which leaves them emotionally without resources as men. They argue that emotional literacy is the most valuable gift we can offer our sons - a life raft that's within every boy's reach - and that boys have as much aptitude as girls for the emotional skills they need to build and sustain friendships, to feel connected rather than cut off, to love and feel loved.

"What Boys Need" was moderated by Michael S. Lancaster, MD, Pediatric Psychiatrist and Rita Littles O'Neill, Vice President and General Manager, WCSC-TV5, Charleston, SC. Our Honorary Chairs are Everett Wells, Market Executive, Centura Bank, Dwight Whitted, Coordinator, Children's Trust Fund, and George L. Sweat, Secretary, Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

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ncmsa ncms alliance symposium what boys need 2000