Beyond ACEs

12/04/19 • 45 min

Episode 111: “Beyond ACEs.” In 1998, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study showed that traumatic events in childhood were common and could have lasting effects—on everything from SAT scores while we’re in school to long-term physical health issues as adults. But are all ACEs created equal? We invited Dr. Lisa Amaya-Jackson from the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress to discuss the benefits—and the limitations—of keeping score. Have we oversimplified the way in which we talk about ACEs? What’s the role of the community in developing resilience? (And why does she think “resilience” is both a beautiful word and a burden?) What do we need to know to help survivors heal?

Topics in this episode:

· The terms used to define trauma. (1:34)

· “All ACEs were not created equal.” (5:29)

· How an ACE can be more potent, and the problem with oversimplification. (8:58)

· How an ACEs assessment fits into the CAC rubric. (20:23)

· Advice for CACs. (26:20)

· Resilience and how communities and organizations can help kids recover. (29:43)

· What’s coming up at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (40:53)

Links:

The original Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

National Center for Child Traumatic Stress

Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope (2016 documentary)

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, at TEDMED 2014, “How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime”

Prevent Child Abuse America

Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma, including The 12 Core Concepts: Concepts for Understanding Traumatic Stress Responses in Children and Families

Learn more about the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers and National Children’s Alliance on our website, read our annual report, and visit us on Facebook.

Support the show

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Topics in this episode:

· The terms used to define trauma. (1:34)

· “All ACEs were not created equal.” (5:29)

· How an ACE can be more potent, and the problem with oversimplification. (8:58)

· How an ACEs assessment fits into the CAC rubric. (20:23)

· Advice for CACs. (26:20)

· Resilience and how communities and organizations can help kids recover. (29:43)

· What’s coming up at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (40:53)

Links:

The original Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

National Center for Child Traumatic Stress

Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope (2016 documentary)

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, at TEDMED 2014, “How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime”

Prevent Child Abuse America

Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma, including The 12 Core Concepts: Concepts for Understanding Traumatic Stress Responses in Children and Families

Learn more about the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers and National Children’s Alliance on our website, read our annual report, and visit us on Facebook.

Support the show

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Previous Episode

Radically Vulnerable: Achieving Justice for Survivors

Episode 110: “Radically Vulnerable: Achieving Justice for Survivors.” The legal landscape has started to change for survivors of child sexual abuse. Are we headed in the right direction? And what do we need to do to keep more children safe? We talked to legal scholar Marci Hamilton from CHILD USA about the progress that’s been made—and what needs to happen next.

Topics in this episode:

· Many adult survivors had no legal remedy. (1:39)

· Statute of limitations (SOL) reform—and who opposes it. (4:35)

· How do SOL windows work? (10:29)

· Top public policy aims. (14:27)

· How to help adult survivors. (17:45)

· Youth sports and other fields where kids are radically vulnerable. (20:30)

· Game Over Commission. (27:00)

· Advice for institutions. (29:10)

· What do we most need to understand? (31:33)

· Our next episode topic. (32:42)

Links:

Prof. Marci A. Hamilton at the University of Pennsylvania is the founder, CEO, and academic director of CHILD USA, a nonprofit academic think tank. She is the author of Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children.

The Boston Globe Spotlight report on clergy sex abuse (2002).

Catholic Charities.

New York’s Child Victims Act took effect on August 14, 2019.

childusa.org/law has information on child protection laws across the United States.

Child Welfare Information Gateway information on mandated reporting.

New York Survivor Tool Kit.

Game Over Commission.

Leaving Neverland documentary.

At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal.

U.S. Center for SafeSport.

Dr. Earl Bradley, former pediatrician and convicted child molester.

Studies from Michigan State University, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Congress (“The Courage of Survivors” Senate Olympics Investigation, July 30, 2019).

David Corwin, MD, professor at the University of Utah.

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Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Next Episode

The Family-Focused Advocate

Season 1, Episode 12, “The Family-Focused Advocate.” One barrier to improved outcomes for children is getting families to participate in and complete mental health treatments. We have the services available at Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs), but not enough families take advantage of them. This is a family engagement problem. How do we change that? We spoke to Libby Ralston from Project BEST about a shift in the way we communicate—and a focus on family advocacy. What barriers must we overcome? And how can our team partners help make the case for treatment?

Topics in this episode:

· The value of caregivers’ support and involvement in their child’s treatment. (1:24)

· Strategies to engage families in services. (6:20)

· Barriers to participating in treatment. (9:42)

· Trauma-screening and assessments as family engagement tools. (13:42)

· A shift in the way we communicate. (18:40)

· Do you have a family engagement problem? (20:25)

· We’re communicating caring. (27:15)

· Our multidisciplinary team (MDT) partners can help. (29:16)

Links:

Motivational interviewing

The reference to our data is about NCA’s Outcome Measurement System

The family engagement training project refers to the Enhance Early Engagement (E3) Training for Children’s Advocacy Centers’ Victim Advocates, a project that NCA and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center are conducting in 2020.

Learn more about the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers and National Children’s Alliance on our website, read our annual report, and visit us on Facebook.

Support the show

Did you like this episode? Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.