ACEs, When the Body Does the Talking
Christina Lepore
Western University – Kings Campus
Professor Greenway
Academic Writing
Due Date: April 11, 2022
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to traumatizing events that happen to a person during childhood. According to (Jones et al., 2019), samples of ACEs comprisemental and emotional, verbal, physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, neglect from parents, and growing up in a family where there is mental illness/ addiction or divorce. ACEs affect a a child’s development through chronic exposure to toxic stress and thus become a significant predictor of long term health outcomes for adults.. Those affected by ACEs become prone to chronic illness that across a lifetime. Studies indicate that one in every 6 adults has experienced four or more exposures toACEs. (Jones et al., 2019)and that ACEs alters the brain development of a child and affect the way the body responds to the flooding of the body with stress hormones in adulthood. The paper provides an analysis of ACEs.while also showing how understanding the complexities of Adverse Childhood Experienced can be prevented through proper screening and early intervention.
ACEs affects both children and adults alike leading to often severe health problems. According to Boullier&Blair (2018), people subjected to four or more ACEs have increased health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, mental illnesses and sadly suicide. ACEs have been named as a major contributor to poor health incomes, while even shortening one’s lifespan up to 20 years. ACEs are alsonoted as a contributing factor to more than 45% of people suffering from anxiety and depression in the United Kingdom(Timko et al., 2021). An example of ACE would be the abuse of a child.
Carrying out screening of ACEs for children as apart of routine physicals can potentially reduce or prevent long term health issues in adults. First, screening can happen in the offices of doctors and pediatricians by considering early intervention as an essential. Adopting the intervention technique has numerous benefits. It becomes easier to diagnose ACEs in the patients by carrying out screening, unlike when not done, as often these matters are still not discussed within the context of a threat to public health. According to Srivastav et al. (2017),identifying the ACEs prompts the doctor or pediatrician to take the necessary intervention action to ensure mental health resources are made available to the patient. Through things like counseling, EMDR, Mediation, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy one can learn skills to regulate their central nervous system and diminish the impact of the prolonged effects of the fight/ flight response. Regular screening of ACEs can lead to thedevelopment, implementation and intervention strategies to educate parents, teachers and other caregivers about the effects of adversity on the development of the brain and bodies of their children (Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Referral Pathways Position Statement of the American Heart Association, n.d.). Implementation of these strategies assists those who had experienced ACEs early on and prevent orpotentially improve health and thus even prevent adult illness, such as cardiovascular disease- the leading cause of death in the United States of America ( N. Burke Harris, 2015).
Screening in schools is another intervention method that assists in preventing adult illness emanating from ACEs. In schools, the teachers who have screened a child for ACEs, also can assess how toxic stress impacts a child’s academic performance, their attention span and the ability of a child to manage difficult emotions and social relationships(Murphey& Sacks, 2019). The introduction of screening services in school helps the teachers effectively assess the children and identify who may require extra help (Murphey& Sacks, 2019). Identifying children with ACEs can help the teachers and social workers in schools develop intervention measures. Carrying out necessary intervention measures help counter the long term effects associated with ACEs in adulthood.
Another measure of prevention would be parenting classes aimed at educating the parents about the impacts of intergenerational trauma and help the parent deal with their own adverse childhood experiences before imprinting their child with the same; thus breaking the cycle. If even prior to birth, parents are already aware of the importance of Lamaze classes, breast feeding, nurturing, sleeping positions for infants and changing a diaper, then presumably ACEs should educate parents as well on how their actions and interactions with their child can impact their long term physical and mental health! Community Educators can engage parents in educating them on how a child’s brain development is impacted by the release of toxic stress hormone and how that affects the body as a whole. According to Sciaraffaet al (2017),toxic stress alters the brain of a child and becomes integrated into the child’s biology. Teaching the parents about how toxic stress contributes to the change in children’s overall short term and long term health ensures that parents, will aim to not expose their children to the least amount of ACEs as possible. Many parents may lack any knowledgeabout ACEs. It is imperative and essential to introduceclasses for caregivers, to provide them with ample knowledge that can help them know how to identify and prevent ACEs in their own homes. Knowledge about any problem forms the backbone of solving it. The classes can also educate the parents on the intervention measures to follow to protect their children from adversities that are known to be occurring in their home or communities. For example understanding that domestic violence is actually family violence; because the child is impacted mentally and emotionally; even if the child is never physically abused directly ( Gillespie& Folger, 2017). When parents get the relevant education on the impacts of ACEs, they spread it to their communities and their families(Gillespie& Folger, 2017). Public Health is aimed at prevention and prevention and trauma informed care has the potential to change future health outcomes.
In summary, ACEs have severe physical and mental health effects in both children and adults.When children face ACEs, their body’s fight or flight response is activated repeatedly, often over decades and well into adulthood before being diagnosed if a link is ever made.Prevention is possible through education and early intervention. As hard as it is for us to have these conversations they are essential to long term health outcomes. Screening should be included in medical settings in the same way, patients are asked about family histories of certain cancers and diseases. Furthermore, Trauma Informed Care in Educational Settings will help educators to question less what is wrong with theirstudents and instead ponder what may have happened to them. This will bring forth open conversations, empathy, options and assist with treatment planning; instead of casting judgementor punishing a student based on behaviours that are often not a choice; but rather a direct result of ACEs.
References
Boullier, M., & Blair, M. (2018). Adverse childhood experiences. Paediatrics and Child Health, 28(3), 132-137.
Finkelhor, D. (2020). Trends in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the United States. Child Abuse & Neglect, 108, 104641.
Gillespie, R. J., & Folger, A. T. (2017). Feasibility of assessing parental ACEs in pediatric primary care: Implications for practice-based implementation. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 10(3), 249-256.
Jones, C. M., Merrick, M. T., &Houry, D. E. (2019). Identifying and Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.18499
Murphey, D., & Sacks, V. (2019). Supporting Students with Adverse Childhood Experiences: How Educators and Schools Can Help. American Educator, 43(2), 8-11.
Sciaraffa, M. A., Zeeman, P. D., & Zeanah, C. H. (2018). Understanding and promoting resilience in the context of adverse childhood experiences. Early childhood education journal, 46(3), 343-353.
Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Referral Pathways Position Statement of the American Heart Association. (n.d.). https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/about-us/policy-research/policy-positions/social-determinants-of-health/aces–screening-and-referral-pathways.pdf?la=en&hash=6CDCD7CCD68604390A79DF081E100CF31DAADD20#:~:text=The%20American%20Heart%20Association%20(AHA
Srivastav, A., Fairbrother, G., & Simpson, L. A. (2017). Addressing adverse childhood experiences through the Affordable Care Act: promising advances and missed opportunities. Academic Pediatrics, 17(7), S136-S143.
Vederhus, J.-K., Timko, C., & Haugland, S. H. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences and impact on quality of life in adulthood: Development and validation of a short difficult childhood questionnaire in a large population-based health survey. Quality of Life Research, 30(6), 1769–1778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-021-02761-0