In this report, I will be speaking about adverse childhood experiences also known as ACEs. ACEs are traumatic events that have happened in a person's childhood, this can include violence, abuse, or growing up with parents or guardians with poor mental health or drug and alcohol problems ('Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences', 2021). The experiences we have when we are children will have a huge impact on the way we develop and grow. It will affect our physical and mental health, our thoughts, feelings behaviour as well as the relationships we form.
Guest speaker Robert Clark gave a presentation on the Good Shepherd Centre where he is the head of strategic development. the Good Shepherd is a secure closed support unit for children between the ages of 12 and 18. Young people must be referred through the children's hearing system or the criminal justice system. The children referred have experienced hardship in their lives and some will have had traumatic situations that can lead to mental health problems, Not coping with their feelings and day-to-day life ('Who we are 1 - Good Shepherd Centre', n.d.). Clark spoke about adverse childhood experiences and the presenting behaviors and concerns of young people. Clark spoke about what was different for each gender. self-harming and attachment were the top two for girls, Where as the boy's main issues were attachment and trauma. One of the Good Shepherds models of intervention is the trauma-informed approach. This is a way of supporting young people to acknowledge the needs they may have because of the trauma they have experienced, by recognizing and responding to the trauma (Leitch, 2017).
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The term adverse childhood experience was originally developed in America between 1995 to 1997 and was conducted by Kaiser Permanente. It first began in the 1980s when Dr. Vincent Fettiti noticed people dropping out of his obesity clinic even though they were having significant weight loss. he lies there was a link between obesity in childhood sexual abuse. Fettiti Went on to collaborate with Dr Robert Anda who was a researcher in disease and prevention, to study the association between sheltered experiences and health throughout their lifetime 17,000 people were involved in the study and were given a questionnaire to fill out. the results showed the number of ACEs experienced the higher the risk of mental, social, and physical health issues and adult life. for example, adults who had experienced ACEs were 2.9 times more likely to have heart disease, 4.6 times more likely to suffer from depression at 9.7 times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. (Bethell et al., 2017) ACEs are replicated around the world. studies were carried out by Mark A Bellis in 2014. Professor Mark Bellis is the Executive Director of Policy and International Health Director of the WHO. Belli's study found that 46% of adults had suffered at least one ACE, and 14% had four or above.
in 2020 the Scottish Government released statistics on adverse childhood experiences compared to bills reported for, Scotland was quite similar in certain parts. in 20 nineteen 15% of adults had experienced four or more traumas. people who lived in deprived areas were two times more likely, that's 20% compared to the 11% in other areas. people who experienced four or more ACEs end Scotland were more likely to
- be obese
- smoke
- have a long-term health condition
- have cardiovascular disease
- bad mental health anxiety increased to 14% in adults compared to 9% in 2009. adults attempted suicide had risen to 7% which is a 4% increase from 2009.
There are many policies and legislations that protect children who have lived in traumatic situations. GIRFEC Which means getting it right for every child, helps families by helping children and young people get the right help, at the right time, add from the right people. These policies' actions are child focused and make the child or the young person the center of the decision-making. the approach aims to ensure needs are found as early as possible to stop other problems from developing (gov. Scot, n.d.). The GIRFEC approach was developed in 2006 and believes every child should be
- safe
- healthy
- achieving
- nurtured
- active
- respect
- responsible
- include
This is also known as SHANARRI, This measures the well-being of the children and their families and if there is a need for support in these areas. this policy recognizes that people working with children must treat them as individuals, the national practice model provides a framework for agencies and their staff to analyze information to be able to understand the child's needs and then able to know what support is needed. This policy and framework, if carried out correctly, will help children deal with trauma and give them the right tools needed to move on to adulthood ('GIRFEC National Practice Model', 2016).
Nadine Burke Harris is an American pediatrician. Harris has expertise in early childhood, health equality, and adverse childhood experiences. Harris is famous for linking toxic stress and ACEs With how it affects us later in life. She noticed children were being referred to her for ADHD but when Harris looked at their history, she couldn't make a diagnosis as most of the kids had experienced severe trauma. Harris believes everyone should know about ACEs As it changes the way how we look at each other and gives a better understanding of someone's actions (Burke Harris, 2015). Harris also talks about the science behind Ace's entire exposure to early adversity affects the brain and the bodies development in children. The part of the brain it affects is the nucleus accumbens which is the reward and pleasure center of the brain. It hamper's the prefrontal cortex which is needed for executive function and impulse control this is important for learning. These findings show that is a neurological reason why high doses of ACEs make people engage in high-risk behavior. (Burke Harris, 2020).
Reflecting on this report, not only learned about adverse childhood experiences, but I have also learned more about who I am. I have had two childhood traumas in my life which I've not really looked at as trauma until now. I was able to see I fall into the statistics With mental health, obesity, and was also a smoker until recently. I was also in an abusive relationship and thought this was normal because of my upbringing, but now I realize my children have one trauma because of this. I believe everyone should watch Nadine Burke Harri's Ted talk on YouTube. She breaks down what adverse childhood experience is and how the trauma affects us. I see people differently now learning this. ACEs Aren't just something that happened in the past it's what is happening in our future, By facing trauma and being given the right tools people will not become a statistic.
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