Phoenix Children’s Hospital defines Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as the childhood traumas that can cause toxic stress and damage a child’s brain and overall health.
These ACEs include but are not limited to, emotional and physical abuse or neglect, witnessing a mother or mother figure treated violently, household substance abuse or mental illness, and childhood bullying.
If a child experiences a number of these “ACEs,” there is an increased chance that the child will suffer from health risks like depression, adolescent pregnancies, drug abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases. Toxic stress can also cause brain damage due to a regularly increased heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension. This can lead to behavioral issues like defiance, problems with memory and an inability to focus, and increased difficulty in maintaining friendships and connecting with other children.
In 2012, the National Survey of Children’s Health reported that 44.4 percent of Arizona children aged 12 to 17 have experiences at least two ACEs, greater than the national average of 30.5 percent. The Arizona ACE Consortium reported that it is estimated that over 69,000 children in Arizona have experienced five or more ACEs, enough to fill the University of Phoenix Stadium.
The good news is that hope is not lost for children suffering from childhood trauma. PBS, in conjunction with Arizona ACE Consortium and Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH), said that the presence of at least one stable and healthy adult in a child’s life could reverse or prevent the damaging effects of ACEs. Arizona programs are responding to these reports by implementing different factors to change the way we approach children suffering from childhood traumas.
[For more of this story, written by Lia Juriansz, go to http://azbigmedia.com/ab/arizo...ach-childhood-trauma]
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