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what is Ace?
what is Ace?
ACEs are adverse childhood experiences that harm children's developing brains and lead to changing how they respond to stress and damaging their immune systems so profoundly that the effects show up decades later.
ACEs cause much of our burden of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence
types
types
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are categorized into three groups: abuse, neglect, and household challenges. Each category is further divided into multiple subcategories.
There are other types of adverse childhood experiences not included in the list of 10 ACEs, including community and environmental ACEs such as racism, bullying and community violence. Researchers have begun to include these experiences as ACEs, too, because they create the same biologic changes as the original 10 ACEs.
As was demonstrated in the ACE Study, what happens in childhood — like a child's footprints in wet cement — commonly lasts throughout life.
facts
facts
Adverse childhood experiences are surprisingly common even in the earliest years, are generally unrecognized, can be identified during childhood by history from children and caretakers, and can start to manifest their damage as ill health and somatization during childhood itself.
ACEs are quite common, even among a middle-class population: more than two-thirds of the population report experiencing one ACE, and nearly a quarter have experienced three or more.
Compared to people with no ACE,those with 4+ ACEs are:
3 times more likely to develop heart or respiratory disease or to have attended (or stayed overnight) in a hospital
4 times more likely to be a high-risk drinker
6 times more likely to have ever received treatment for mental illness
6 times more likely to be a smoker
6 times more likely to have had or caused an unplanned teenage pregnancy
15 times more likely to have perpetrated violence in the last year
16 times more likely to have used substances (i.e. heroin or crack)
20 times more likely to have been incarcerated.
impact
impact
Overload of stress hormones activates flight, fright or freeze mode.
Consequences:
Consequences:
Children can’t learn in school. They often have difficulty trusting adults or developing healthy relationships with peers (i.e., they become loners).
Measures taken by child:
Measures taken by child:
To relieve their anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, and/or inability to focus, they turn to easily available biochemical solutions nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine or activities in which they can escape their problems — high risk sports, proliferation of sex partners, and work/over-achievement.
Using drugs or overeating or engaging in risky behaviour leads to consequences as a direct result of this behaviour.
In addition, there is increasing research shows that severe and chronic stress leads to bodily systems producing an inflammatory response that leads to disease.
solutions
solutions
There are multiple ways to build and strengthen a child’s resilience and help lessen the consequences of ACEs. This support could include:
Caregiver knowledge and application of positive parenting skills
Children’s social and emotional health
Close relationships with competent caregivers or other caring adults
Communities that support health and development
Concrete support for parents and families
Having a sense of purpose
Individual problem-solving skills and self-regulation abilities
Parental resilience
Social connections
Can aces be prevented?
Can aces be prevented?
Yes, ACEs can be prevented. Not everyone who experiences ACEs will go on to have poor health outcomes.
Promoting awareness of ACEs is key.
Helping others learn about ACEs can:
Change how people think about the causes of ACEs and who could help prevent them.
Shift the focus from individual responsibility to community solutions.
Reduce shame around getting help with parenting challenges or for substance misuse, depression, or suicidal thoughts.
Promote safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments where children live, learn, and play.
care-givers
care-givers
Resources for Care giver while working with Children
Assign the identified children a stable key person, rather than likely shorter-term placements. Persist in encouraging and giving the skills for friendships – for those children, no one else may be doing this.
Children with high numbers of ACEs need to be independent much more than their peers will. Singing or engaging in crafts lifts the soul and the ability to spend hours with mates kicking a football around will provide a place for that child to go, so start it young.
Educate parents about ACEs if you can: hand out leaflets from health visitors and be more urgent with the stable relatives of the children who might be suffering.
Resources for Care giver for Self Care:
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