Tagged With "Childhood Sexual Abuse"
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After 5-year journey to integrate ACEs science, Santa Rosa, CA, pediatric clinic is trauma-informed, from head to toe
Dr. Meredith Kieschnick was among the first physicians in the U.S. to hear the term, "adverse childhood experiences". That was in 1998, early on in her career as a pediatrician, when the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) published its initial findings in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine . “I attended a conference at which (Dr. Vincent) Felitti spoke,” she recalls. Felitti, at that time director of the Health Appraisal Center at Kaiser Permanente...
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Alternative IHEBA with ACEs for California (and Other) Pediatricians
If you are a pediatrician serving Medicaid managed care patients in California, then you are required to use the Staying Healthy Assessment or an alternative IHEBA (Individual Health Education Behavioral Assessment) at all well-child visits. The bad news is that getting approval to use an alternative IHEBA is a tedious process. The good news is that as of October 27, 2016 the Whole Child Assessment (WCA) is available for use in English and Spanish. Most importantly, the WCA has been...
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Alternative IHEBA with ACEs for California (and Other) Pediatricians
If you are a pediatrician serving Medicaid managed care patients in California, then you are required to use the Staying Healthy Assessment or an alternative IHEBA (Individual Health Education Behavioral Assessment) at all well-child visits. The bad news is that getting approval to use an alternative IHEBA is a tedious process. The good news is that as of October 27, 2016 the Whole Child Assessment (WCA) is available for use in English and Spanish. Most importantly, the WCA has been...
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An Early Childhood Development Expert Explains How Trauma and Stress Can Derail a Kid’s Life [sarasotamagazine.com]
By Cooper Levey-Baker, Sarasota, December 19, 2019 Mimi Graham has spent her life fighting for kids. She began her career in the late 1970s as a Head Start administrator before moving into the world of academia to study child development and advocate for public policies that improve the health of mothers and children. Today, she’s the director of Florida State University’s Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy, a position in which she advises government agencies and...
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As California Moves to Screen Children for Childhood Trauma, Poverty Has To Be Part of the Equation
In California, we are coming full circle in recognizing the connection between poverty and health.
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Bay Area Doctors Target Health Consequences of Childhood Trauma [sfchronicle.com]
By Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2020 A screening tool developed by Bay Area pediatricians to identify adverse childhood experiences, ranging from homelessness and food insecurity to physical and sexual abuse, will now help doctors statewide address trauma affecting patients’ health. The California Department of Health Care Services approved the tool — called PEARLS, for Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-Events Screener — last month. As of Jan. 1, its use is covered by...
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Sesame Street will help Memphis kids with their ACEs
(Posted in the Commercial Appeal on December 5, 2018 ) Every child deserves to grow up with a strong connection to a caring adult and a loving family. But for one in four kids in Shelby County, a supportive relationship with a parent figure isn’t so easy to come by. The legacy of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — ranging from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; the loss of a parent through illness, death, divorce, or incarceration; or domestic violence...
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Sitler: Managing Depression and Anxiety in Children [newarkadvocate.com]
By Penny Sitler, Newark Advocate, March 1, 2020 There’s much conversation about mental health in children and youth these days. At Welsh Hills School, local pediatrician Dr. William Knobelach recently spoke about depression and anxiety in school aged children to a standing room only crowd at a parent education event. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES), which looks at the impact of childhood trauma on health and well-being later in life, frequently comes up in talks about mental...
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Social policies to prevent adversity -- see Open Access link (until July 1) to “A Critical Assessment of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study at 20 Years”— in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine
The ACEs research by Drs. Felitti, Anda and colleagues focused attention on the important consequences of childhood adversity for adult health. Of course, as many in the resilience-building movement recognize, adversities affect children’s health and life trajectories as well. When we recognize the powerful impacts of harsh life circumstances for children and families, it becomes clearer that social policies to strengthen household and community resources are needed as well as...
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Solano County's (CA) ACEs initiative, a robust community effort, makes room for input from all
In a house called “Johanna’s House” on a tree-lined side street in Vallejo, Calif., four women are filling out the adverse childhood experiences (ACE) survey given to them by Maria Guevara, the founder of Vallejo Together, an organization that serves homeless residents in Vallejo. The house was named for Johanna Dilag, a homeless woman who was found dead along with her dog.
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
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Study shows most pregnant women and their docs like ACEs screening
Photo/ CreativeCommons Would pregnant women participate in surveys from their doctors asking them about whether they had experienced trauma in their childhood? In surveying moms-to-be at two Northern California Kaiser sites, clinicians discovered that the women were receptive to filling out an adverse childhood experiences (ACE) survey, according to a study that was published earlier this year in the Journal of Women’s Health. In fact, researchers found out that the vast majority of pregnant...
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The Relentless School Nurse: ACEs Impact Nurses More Than We Realized!
I ran across this message on www.acesconnection.com and not only did it catch my attention, but it also made me want to dig deeper. Could it be true that nurses have a higher ACEs score than other healthcare professionals? It seemed true in this small survey, but was this a representation of a trend? If it was, the implications in nursing practice could be tremendous and concerning. What I found was that there is a grand canyon gap in research. The minimal studies that do exist confirm that...
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The ‘Unseen Wounds’ of Child Emotional Abuse [psmag.com]
As recent reports regarding actor Stephen Collins remind us, accusations of child sexual abuse reliably produce a reaction of intense horror. But a new study suggests that, if we are to seriously address the mistreatment of children...
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Those who separate immigrant children from parents might as well be beating them with truncheons
Many people who see reports of children separated from their parents might think that, because they’re not crying, that they’ve adjusted. Or, if they are crying, they’ll eventually stop and get over it. But, the reality is that those who participate in separating children from their parents and those who are caring for them in the detainment centers might as well be beating them with truncheons.
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Trauma education and mindfulness help youth living amid gun violence
Armon Hurst, 2nd from left, first row, Teens on Target, courtesy of YouthAlive! Eighteen-year-old Armon Hurst serves as vice president of the student body at Castlemont High School in Oakland, Calif. He has a 4.0 grade point average, is an avid baseball player, and is slated to go to college next year. But until a few years ago, Hurst would find himself waking from nightmares in the middle of the night. It was difficult to concentrate at school, and he wasn’t eating well. Armon Hurst “There...
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Trauma-Informed Care May Ease Patient Fear, Clinician Burnout [jamanetwork.com]
By Bridget M. Kuehn, JAMA Network, January 29, 2020 For many sexual assault survivors whom Anita Ravi, MD, MPH, sees as a New York City–based family physician, the prospect of even basic medical care can be frightening. Some have put off Papanicolaou tests and mammograms for years or even decades. To help them, Ravi has adopted a trauma-informed approach that works to restore patients’ trust and give them a greater sense of control over their visit. This may include asking permission before...
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Trauma-Informed Care — Reflections of a Primary Care Doctor in the Week of the Kavanaugh Hearing [NEJM.org]
Today, it was my third patient of the morning: a woman with a history of childhood sexual abuse and an abusive marriage. She shared with me her distress, her escalating nightmares and flashbacks over the past week. She held out her left arm to me, where for the first time since her adolescence, she had started cutting herself. And then my sixth patient struggled unsuccessfully to tolerate a Pap smear, as her anxiety became unbearable. Yesterday, it was my fourth patient, with a history of...
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Trauma-informed groups rev up to address race, inclusion
Eighteen-year-old Kia Hanson has always enjoyed her time as a youth leader at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC). She’s worked mostly with five- and six-year-olds since she began in 2016. Recently, she tapped into new skills, especially if the kids were having a meltdown. Kia Hanson “If they’re off, we ask them, ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Do you want to talk about anything?’,” she explains. “Basically asking before assuming they’re mad at the world for no reason.” What made the...
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Webinar: Crossroads of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Developmental Disabilities
Physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, child life professionals, and other patient service providers are invited and encouraged to join a webinar entitled: "Crossroads of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Developmental Disabilities" Increased levels of toxic stress, which can be caused by recurrent or chronic exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), can impair neurodevelopment, behavior, and overall health of a child (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...
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Webinar: Leveraging Advances in Science to Achieve Breakthrough Impacts at Scale for Young Children Facing Adversity
DATE: Thursday, February 21, 2019 TIME: 11:00-11:45am Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, will address how new science is changing how we think about early childhood adversity and resilience – and how early experiences affect lifelong health and development. He will emphasize the need to address (and measure) individual differences in response to adversity and to intervention in very young children. He will also show how we can move...
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Webinar Recording and Resources - Crossroads of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Developmental Disabilities
For many healthcare providers, it can be challenging to distinguish between behaviors associated with a developmental disability and behaviors resulting from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). It takes coordination across multiple disciplines to ensure early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of ACEs and/or developmental disabilities. Research has shown that individuals with disabilities are at increased risk for experiencing violence of all types, especially physical violence and...
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Webinar: Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences: Perspectives on Hope & Resilience
Webinar: Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences: Perspectives on Hope & Resilience Thursday, April 16, 2020 from 12:00PM - 1:00PM EDT “Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today.”- Robert Block, former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Join Shaina Groisberg, MD, Child Abuse pediatrician, and learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), how they impact the health of your pediatric patients, and...
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Who's integrating ACEs?
2015 article about Children's Clinic in Portland, OR, doing ACEs history on parents of four-month-old babies. 2014 article about pediatricians taking ACEs history on ACEsTooHigh.com. Center for Youth Wellness, San Francisco,...
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Why I believe Gregory Williams, and his book, Shattered By The Darkness, will help save lives and revolutionize healthcare.
When you first hear about it, it sounds unlikely, fact that something that happened to someone in utero, at the age of two months, or four years, or any time in childhood, is what is killing them as an adult, or making them want to die, or making them want to hurt themselves or others. Yet the connection between childhood trauma and adult disease, mental illness, addiction, suicide, violence – most all of society’s ills – is as irrefutable as the myriad truths revealed about it in the...
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Working with UCSF, California Surgeon General Aims to Cut Adverse Childhood Experiences by Half [ucsf.edu]
By Rebecca Wolfson, University of California San Francisco, February 18, 2020 Nadine Burke Harris, MD, California’s first surgeon general, has a bold goal: cut adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress in half within one generation. She spoke about her vision and her groundbreaking work to reduce adverse childhood experiences across the state during a speech at the UC San Francisco Parnassus Heights campus. The lecture at Cole Hall on Feb. 13 was part of Chancellor Sam Hawgood’s health...
Calendar Event
ACEs Aware Initiative Webinar
Calendar Event
ACEs Aware Initiative Webinar
Comment
Re: Cover Story November Issue of Journal of Family Practice: Childhood Adversity and Lifelong Health
Dear Audrey, What a terrific summary and highlighting of the major points about ACEs, including the often minimized risk for autoimmune and other chronic diseases. Congrats on this huge success of getting ACEs in front of family docs and other primary care providers. I'm so thrilled to see it and am sharing on my chronic illness trauma blog and FB page and more!!
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CANarratives.pdf
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Re: Opinion: All Doctors Should Practice Trauma-Informed Care [calhealthreport.org]
“Thus, it should be standard practice for medical professionals to screen and assess for trauma in a safe environment. It is critical that primary and behavioral health systems have communication channels to inform each other about a person’s trauma and its effect on their mental health and physical wellbeing. In order to achieve this outcome, we are proposing state legislation to mandate trauma-informed care education in all California medical, dental and nursing programs. In addition, we...
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ACE Questionnaire
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CYW ACE-Q CHILD.pdf
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ParentingBook.pdf
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ACEs Research Corner — May 2020
[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site -- abuseresearch.info -- that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Williams AB, Smith ER, Trujillo MA, et. al. Common health problems in safety-net primary care: Modeling the roles of trauma history and mental health. J Clin...
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Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Primary Care [jamanetwork.com]
By Thomas L. Campbell, JAMA, May 28, 2020 Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as experiencing or witnessing violence or abuse or living with a parent with mental illness or substance use disorder, have been shown to have a powerful influence on subsequent mental and physical health and life expectancy. Exposure to ACEs has been linked to more than 40 negative health conditions, including poor mental health, substance use disorder, adverse health behaviors, chronic physical disease,...
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Pediatric Mental Health Care Must Be Family Mental Health Care [jamanetwork.com]
By Matthew G. Biel, Michael H. Tang, Barry Zuckerman, JAMA Pediatrics, April 6, 2020 Pediatric mental health (MH) concerns, including depression, anxiety, loneliness and social isolation, and suicide, have increased markedly in the last decade and are critical factors associated with population health. While effective interventions for these conditions have been developed and pediatric health care professionals increasingly address MH concerns as a central component of clinical practice, our...
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ACEs Research Corner — June 2020
[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Tang R, Howe LD, Suderman M, et. al. Adverse childhood experiences, DNA methylation age acceleration, and cortisol in UK children. Clin Epigenetics. 2020 Apr...