July 2017

This is an excerpt from Breakaway Learners appearing in Evolllution ,and it deals with ACEs. I think the chapter in particular and the book more generally will be of interest to you all. Comments and thoughts are welcome as always. https://evolllution.com/attracting-students/todays_learner/who-are-our-students-now-and-into-the-future/

The current health-care debate is as serious as a heart attack. And if it ultimately results in fewer people having insurance , there's an excellent chance more Americans will suffer life-threatening cardiac arrest. That's the clear implication of a pilot study just published in the Journal of the American Heart Association . Focusing on Multnomah County, Oregon (which includes the city of Portland), it compared recorded cases of cardiac arrests over two time periods: immediately prior to...

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual’s health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor...

Clark County teens who have suffered traumatic experiences and dysfunctional home lives are significantly more likely to use marijuana and cigarettes than their peers, according to Clark County Public Health. At a Board of Health meeting Wednesday, Clark County councilors received an expanded presentation on the results of the 2016 Healthy Youth Survey, a statewide, confidential survey that polls sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grade students on their substance use, mental health and personal...

There is nothing more motivating for teachers and school support staff than identifying ways they can reach students. That is happening statewide as the Illinois Education Association, with 135,000 union members, addresses the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the ability of students to learn. New brain research proves ACEs, recurring experiences that create such trauma that the brain literally changes, lead to behaviors such as fighting, fleeing or shutting down.

It could have (and should have) been a scene from another century but a church attendee’s video, shared on social media, exposed that within our so called modern world, there exists public shaming of children in the name of “religion.” On May 7, a thirteen-year-old girl by the name of Savannah , in a heartfelt speech, came out to her Mormon congregation in Eagle Mountain Utah, as gay. “I want to love myself and not feel ashamed for being me” Savannah was unable to finish as mid talk, her...

Twenty-two years ago, a retired juvenile court judge in San Francisco teamed up with a Native American healer to help kids get on a positive path and avoid juvenile court. Superior Court Judge Daniel Weinstein and Hully Fetiçó — who was a youth probation commissioner as well as an athlete, dancer and healer — designed a small summer camping program in which low-income, underserved kids lived in seven tepees, each representing one continent of the world. In their first activity, 15 kids built...

A growing body of research, including work published here , documents harms of what is known as the school-to-prison pipeline. Evidence shows that compared to 20 or more years ago, contemporary schools are more likely to suspend students — particularly students of color — out of school for minor misbehaviors. After being suspended, these students have a greater risk than others of dropping out of school and justice system involvement. Because of these harmful effects and their racially...

With up to 40 percent of a workforce affected by secondhand drinking (the negative impacts of a person's drinking behaviors on others), the potential of having employees with one or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) abounds. Not only the presence of ACEs for the employee but for the passing of ACEs along by the employee to their children . Thus, EAPs offer a unique opportunity to include resources that can help employees screen for ACEs -- theirs and those of their children. Not only...

A few months ago I started watching April the Giraffe, via a live animal camera (cam) at Animal Adventure Park in New York. It had been such a relaxing experience that I missed it when it was turned off. I used to fall asleep watching the giraffes. I was delighted when I found another website, explore.org, and realized that they had cameras all over the world, including in Africa where I could watch giraffes, elephants, hippos, zebras, and so many more animals in their natural habitat. For...

Some commentary written by Maia Szalavitz who is one of my favorite writers. For years, people with addiction have wondered when the media would recognize our condition as a medical problem, not a moral one — when they would stop reducing us to mere "addicts" and speak of us in the more respectful and accurate "person first" language that has become common for people with other diseases and disorders. Last week, The Associated Press took an important step in that direction. The new edition...