Tagged With "ACEs"
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Parenting’s Troubled History
As we learned from the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study , negative childhood experiences are often kept secret, downplayed, or repressed because of our powerful desire to put such things behind us. Unfortunately, our minds and our brains don’t work that way. Patterns can play out automatically, no matter how hard we try to be original and create our own realities. Just as it is important to know family medical history (e.g., diabetes or tuberculosis) it is equally important to know about our...
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Parenting Triggered Healing form ACEs
This month marks my tenths wedding anniversary. My ACE score is five. I have four children who are 8, 7, 5 and 1.5 years old. Raising them up with minimum impact of abuse is my greatest challenge . Part of this challenge comes from having serious financial problems as ACE study charts predicted but the toughest part is that my wive's behavior as a victim of child abuse is my weakest point to handle . whenever my wife shouts or curs or beat them,I feel like I was hit by a car. She lives in...
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Parenting With ACEs: How You Can Support Your Toddler [sfbayview.com]
By Diana Hembree, San Francisco Bay View, November 11, 2019 “My 2-year-old keeps falling down when he tries to walk.” “My son is almost 24 months old, but all he can say is ‘mama’ and dada.’” “She just turned 2, and she still can’t follow the simplest instructions.” When your toddler misses a developmental milestone, like taking her first steps by age 2, it’s natural to fret. After all, in very rare cases, such delays may be a sign of an underlying condition. But a recent study suggests that...
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Paying Attention as the Most Exhausting Part of Parenting with ACEs
I used to sneak away for a hot bath as often as possible when my daughter was in the need-me-every-minute years. I'd soak long past when the water went cold and I felt guilty at times but sometimes I needed to be alone. To read poetry. To have some physical space. To exhale. I didn't always know where or how to pamper or self-care myself. There were few adults I trusted. I believed in attachment-style parenting and wanted to be there all of the time. And that even made me feel guilty when I...
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Personal and Parental Reflections on Adverse Childhood Experiences
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUJHvbPrL0I
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Poem - Not Quite a Blog..
Christine "Cissy" White is probably a familiar name to most of you. If not, check out her wonderful writing which was and is totally inspiring to me. I first "met" her through the Parenting With ACEs site - wonderfully written in her own authentic voice. It was her writing that made me consider the possibility of writing in my authentic voice as well and led me to eventually post several blogs. Then, at the December MARC Convening in Philadelphia, I met Cissy in person. I shared with her...
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Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels [jamanetwork.com]
By Christina Bethell, Jennifer Jones, Narangerel Gombojav, et al., JAMA Pediatrics, September 9, 2019 Question : Are positive childhood experiences (PCEs) associated with adult depression and/or poor mental health (D/PMH) and adult-reported social and emotional support (ARSES) independent from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)? Findings : In this cross-sectional study, adults reporting higher PCEs had lower odds of D/PMH and greater ARSES after accounting for ACEs. The associations of...
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Power of Family Resilience to Protect Children From Bullying [sciencedaily.com]
By American Academy of Pediatrics, Science Daily, October 25, 2019 Studies show that children exposed to childhood trauma known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk of being bullied or bullying others. New research being presented at the American American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition suggests that family resilience -- the ability to work together to overcome problems, for example -- reduces this risk. The research abstract,...
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Prevention: Bringing Baby Home Training for Faciliators
A friend of mine recently referred her grandchild and his pregnant wife to a Bringing Baby Home class, because she noticed that the wife had a horrible background of abuse and at times had difficulty functioning. What the grandmother noticed with this couple was a change in the family dynamics. the couple knows how to get along, the father is engaged in parenting, and the baby thriving. This is really starting at the root of the problem. 20 years ago, Drs. John and Julie Gottman worked with...
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Re: Tell Me About You
A piece of my personal journey... I recall being stunned by how much my own history and past kept rearing its ugly head as parent of 3 children under the age of 1. I so desperately wanted to be a "great" parent. I read A LOT of parenting and self-help books and worked hard to put into practice what I learned. It was so frustrating to not understand why I had to constantly re-frame and fight urges to react in the ways that didn't align with the parent or person that I wanted to be. Through my...
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Re: Tell Me About You
Robin: Thank you for this post. I have met so many parents (and I am one as well) that was incredible relieved and frightened by finding out about ACEs. To me, it's a motivating fear not a paralyzing one. And it's SO MUCH work to reframe. I so get that. There's effort in shaping behaviors and feelings and impulses. And that's why I think self-care comes in or meditation or all the things that give support for that work. Change can't happen just because we hope or wish for it - though that's...
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Re: Parent Coaching is a Valuable Investment!
Jessie: I hear from lots of parents looking for just this kind of coaching. Do you know if insurers ever cover it? I've heard of a few places that bring family groups together in pediatric practices and attempt to create support in and with and by parents, and sometimes do that with medical or community groups. So much more is needed. Thanks for sharing! Cis
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Re: 5 Tickets to See Wrestling Ghosts, a New Documentary About Breaking the Cycle of Trauma!
Charlotte: THANK YOU for this offer. That was ONE MOVING film. I saw it last week. It's so honest, so raw, so real, so powerful. I know it's going to open up SO many conversations and so much healing for parents and those who work with parents. It was painful, truthful, realistic, and also offered a view into how slow healing can be, and necessary, painful, beautiful, arduous. I kept wondering how the heck the mother was able to afford all those modalities and supports as well. Anyhow, it's...
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Re: Review of Wrestling Ghosts (Documentary About Breaking the Cycle of Trauma) & Tickets
Excellent review Cissy, I am planning on hosting a screening in my school community this fall.
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Re: Review of Wrestling Ghosts (Documentary About Breaking the Cycle of Trauma) & Tickets
Robin! I think it will be great and you will love it - especially combined with your community café model.
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Re: It Makes Sense
Hi Jennifer, Mary Sharrow and I (Peace4Tarpon) and Dr. Greg Williams (author of "Shattered by the Darkness") were at the ACEs Connection table the first day of the conference and had an experience similar to yours. Mary and I couldn't believe that only one person we spoke with had heard of the ACE study and no one we talked with was familiar with ACEs Connection. We live and breathe ACEs day after day so its easy to assume that just about everyone working in the field of mental health would...
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Re: Dr. Felitti Explains on TV with Dr. Alman the Origins of the ACE Study -- July 19, 2019
Brian... This is wonderful, thank you for posting. I will share this. My expertise is in childhood sexual abuse. Early in my career working with child and adult survivors, I learned the connection with later emotional eating issues and obesity. A resourceful solution. This is a great interview. Thanks again.
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ACE education for parents - Jane's piece
Check out this encouraging bit of news in Jane's new story on ACES Too High entitled "Troubled moms and dads learn how to parent with ACEs." (It's also on ACEsConnection.com .) "Since April 2014, more than 1,100 parents have learned about ACEs in parenting classes in three jails and two treatment facilities in Davidson and Rutherford counties, and in four classes at the Family Center. The entire set of parenting classes lasts eight weeks; in the county jails, they last six weeks. After...
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ACE Fact Sheets to Give Your Doctors, Patients & Beyond (free downloads)
I was first inspired to create a fact sheet summarizing the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) after reading a comment in “Got Your ACE score?” A reader wished she had a form to give her doctor that documented the vast body of evidence explaining how early trauma increases risk for chronic physical and mental health conditions and much more.
I could relate.
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ACE Member Discount 18th Annual Families and Fathers National Conference Limited
I am sharing a 20% discount and that U.S. OCSE as well as trauma experts are actively participating with a special series on March 1st at the 18th Annual Families & Fathers National Conference, "Never Giving Up - Breakthrough 2017", will be hosted by Fathers & Families Coalition of America from February 27 - March 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA. Early Bird Registration is now open with full event, two-day or one-day options for individuals to customize their training. The focus of this...
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ACE Testing During Pregnancy Is The Missing Link
Pregnancy is often welcomed with joy and hope however, many challenges and distress may still occur during a mother’s pregnancy. Any concerns simple or complex may impact the wellness of the mother, her baby and cause stress on her multiple relationships. Oftentimes, mothers have to face planned or unplanned life changing events.
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ACEs & African Americans Community on ACEs Connection
ACEs Connection envisions a resilient world where ALL people thrive. We are an anti-racist organization committed to the pursuit of social justice. In our work to promote resilience and prevent and mitigate ACEs, we intentionally embrace and uplift people who have historically not had a seat at the table. ACEs Connection celebrates the voices and tells the stories of people who have been barred from decision-making and who have shouldered the burden of systemic and economic oppression as the...
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ACEs Connection's Inclusion Tool makes sure nobody's left out
We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...
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All hands on deck (from a distance): remote care for traumatized moms and babies
Dear colleague, Coronavirus is forcing providers and allied professionals serving mothers and babies to make unprecedented decisions. Should pregnant women needing care go through our hospital quarantine entrance? Should moms deliver without partners, family or doulas present? Be sent home early before key screenings or jaundice treatment are completed? To make matters worse, our systems aren't ready for basic remote care of mothers and infants now "socially distanced". Prenatal, post-partum...
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[Announcement] 3 Part-Series on ACEs from "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" (Podcast) [ttfa.org]
Hosted By Nora McInerny, Terrible, Thanks for Asking, October 28 2019 'Terrible, Thanks for Asking' the award winning podcast hosted by Nora McInerny and produced by American Public Media (AMP), challenges real people to candidly discuss their feelings. Beginning November 5, 2019 'Terrible, Thanks for Asking' will be asking guests to share the experiences and challenges they encountered while growing up with ACEs. With the knowledge that adversity and trauma has harmful implications later in...
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Announcing a New Parenting and ACEs Blog from Stress Health, an Initiative of the Center for Youth Wellness
Research shows that the right kind of support and care can mitigate the impact of toxic stress in children and help them bounce back.
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Attachment Parenting helping to prevent ACEs
The ACE study has demonstrated how impactful adverse childhood experiences are on an individual; impacting mental, emotional and social growth as well as negatively affecting physical health. In recent years professionals have turned their focus to the prevention of ACEs and one thing stands out. We must address the intergenerational transmission of these adverse experiences. But how do we do that? One of the answers lies in our parenting skills. Research has shown that early life...
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California has Begun Screening for Early Childhood Trauma, But Critics Urge Caution [sciencemag.org]
By Emily Underwood, Science, January 29, 2020 On 1 January, California became the first U.S. state to screen for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)—early life hardships such as abuse, neglect, and poverty, which can have devastating health consequences in later life. The project is not just a public health initiative, but a vast experiment. State officials aim to cut the health impacts of early life adversity by as much as half within a generation. But critics say the health benefits of...
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Can Psychotherapy Reverse Post-Traumatic Epigenetic Changes? [psychologytoday.com]
By Grant H. Brenner, Psychology Today, October 29, 2019 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition affecting a subset of people exposed to traumatic experiences. Not all people who endure traumatic experiences will develop PTSD as most people are resilient due to biological, psychological, and social factors. Most responses to trauma are normal, including short-term stress responses, sleep disturbances, fears of trauma happening again, and related reactions, but they resolve after...
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Careful, It's Not Over Yet & Parenting with ACEs & PTSD
Note: Dawn Daum & Joyelle Bran dt are the featured guests on the live chat held in the Parenting with ACEs Group on Tuesday, June 13th at 10 AM PST / 1 PM PST. The topic is Parenting with PTSD & ACEs. Dawn and Joyelle are artists, activists and parents. They met a few years ago and set about creating an online community for parent survivors to working to break the cycle of abuse. Here's a small sample of the work they have done and are doing: Wrote a resource about Parenting as an...
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Children of Addiction Awareness Week - Bringing ACEs Into Conversations and Celebrations
Children of Addiction (COA) Awareness Week is an annual celebration near and dear to my heart for many reasons, not the least of which are my personal experiences as a child of an alcoholic and as a child with four ACEs - three of which were the result of secondhand drinking (explained below). COA Week is an annual event celebrated during the week of Valentine’s Day - this year it's February 11 - 17. It is sponsored by the National Association for Children of Addiction, NACoA.org . NACoA’s...
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Children's Books for Children 9 and up!
Here is a collection of books for children ages 9 and up dealing with adversity. Each of them have their own unique story however deal with numerous obstacles and challenges that many children deal with daily.
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Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference - Early Bird Pricing Ends Friday!
Don't miss the most economical way to attend the National Conference for Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools in Washington DC, Feb 18-20, 2018. Early bird registration is only $395 through Fri, Dec 15. After that, full registration will cost $450. Here's the link to register. "Registration has been brisk," explains Melissa Sadin, Director of ATN's Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Program, "and the program we're offering is an incredible array of experts in the trauma-informed education field.
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Dr. Allison Jackson's TEDx Talk on ACEs
This is not an us/them conversation. This is an all of us conversation. And if we choose to keep our story of silence this epidemic is going to grow."
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Dr. Felitti Explains on TV with Dr. Alman the Origins of the ACE Study -- July 19, 2019
Meet the Doctor! ACE Study explained so clearly that you will likely understand 1 important fact of life much better: How your parents upbringing impacted them and the ways they parented you. Listen to Dr. Vincent Felitti the Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences) with Dr. Brian Alman on TV. They are discussing how it all began and how it is relevant to you: https://vimeo.com/349164603/b152fa1e61 For resources, training programs, groups and referrals -- in...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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Re: Prevention: Bringing Baby Home Training for Faciliators
I am sorry I posted the wrong dates; May 17-18, 2018 in Sacramento. Thank you, Carolyn
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Re: When a Mother Loves an Alcoholic - Parenting With ACEs
Lisa: This is beautiful and honest and hopeful. And you make me think, as your writing always does, about some of the impacts I don't always think about in my own life or in my own mothering. THANK you!!! Please keep sharing. I started to highlight the lines I loved but there were too many. Cissy
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Re: Making the Good Stuff Louder: Trauma Dad, Bryon Hamel
thank you for trusting our community and sharing your story, Byron. And thank you Cissy for capturing his words! This quote really resonates for me. Through persistence we can break the cycle! . Just because a train can be put back on its rails doesn't mean damage is negated when it comes off of them. The truth is, this is a relentless fight. It is forever. The victory is in the persistence.
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Re: Making the Good Stuff Louder: Trauma Dad, Bryon Hamel
Gail: Isn't he AMAZING? So inspiring. I love learning from people parenting with ACEs and feel grateful for place and space to share experiences, perspectives and expertise. Cissy
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Re: The Problem with ACEs Implementation
Hi Joyelle, I've read your blog with interest, as my husband and I committed ourselves to the "Primary Prevention of ACES" on retirement in 2004. It didn't take long to discover how complex this is - so our 2nd commitment was to avoid further harm to parents and all the while recognizing deep and pervasive roots of ACES in homes, and public and private spheres of our culture. We still don't have answers. In the meantime, we've been visionary, and like a family wanting to build a new home,...
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Re: The Problem with ACEs Implementation
I recently attended "A Pair of ACES" workshop in Sacramento in which the universality of ACES, both personal and socially determined, was addressed as was the importance of organizing one's own community for action. As a Family Therapist, it is important to treat (or at least educate) the whole family including grandparents and other significant people in a child's life. That is why I am focusing on prevention during the Prenatal to Five stage of Child and Family development because...
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Re: The Problem with ACEs Implementation
Hi Gladys, Your work sounds fascinating, I would love to hear more about it! You can reach me at parentingwithptsd@gmail.com
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Re: The Problem with ACEs Implementation
Hi Barbara, I am so encouraged to here that the pair of ACEs framework is being used to identify the larger scale issues at play. Thanks for sharing!
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Re: The Problem with ACEs Implementation
Yes and Strategies 2.0 offers this workshop, in California, at no cost to organizations with an interest in prevention and there are many more plus consultations. Where are you located?
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Re: The Problem with ACEs Implementation
Gladys: Please share what you and you husband are doing towards to the Primary Prevention of ACEs! It's SO GOOD to hear you are also focusing on how not to further harm parents. Part of the reason so many of us trauma survivor parents have become advocates is because that can happen. Or, sometimes parents are treated as a total afterthought. Please share what you are doing, learning, creating! Cissy
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Re: Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Series Overview [Video]
How can we sign up for the remainder of the webinars. I didn't get back an email after having registered a few weeks ago.
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Re: Starting & Growing Resilient Communities: Series Overview [Video]
Linda: Please let me know if this is still an issue for you. Also, if you save the invite to your calendar the Zoom link should be in there (that's where I found mine). Each webinar has to be signed up for individually so keep checking the ACEs Connection calendar and for the blog posts about the series. I'm sorry I missed your comment til today and hope you were able to get on the webinar that happened today. Please know all the webinars are archived so they are viewable even if you miss...
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Re: Poem - Not Quite a Blog..
Robin - This is so hauntingly beautiful. I have read it four times and am so moved by it. Though we have spoken several times, and at length, this glimpse into your life and being is almost more telling and connecting than our calls. Almost. Please keep sharing your poetry. For me this touches another place that needs some healing. I am sure I am not alone. Peace and thank you! c