On March 30, 1984, I was given the privilege of delivering the introductory speech at the first American Medical Association (AMA) meeting exclusively for child abuse and neglect. Although one might wonder why 22 years lapsed between the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) publication of the milestone article by Henry Kempe1 and the first meeting, the fact remains that the AMA is now paying attention to the needs of abused children and their families. My talk at this conference came just 3 weeks after the death of Henry Kempe, some 20 years almost to the date when he asked if I would like to be involved with his study of the battered child syndrome.
