How many of you have heard the acronym ACEs?  It stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences.  The medical research that has come to light about this was actually done about 20 years ago.  It was often dubbed the most important study of which no one had heart, but gratefully, that is changing. This study empirically demonstrated that negative events in a child’s life (abuse of any kind, incarceration of a parent, death of a parent, violence in the family, substance abuse, etc.) affects that child lifelong in a variety of ways if there is not appropriate intervention.  It alters their brain development, both function and structure; their nervous system regulation, physiology, stress responses and even the gene function.  Because of this research, doctors and other professionals are using new assessment tools and trauma informed treatment for primary care.  One of these tools is an ACEs score sheet. While this does not include all adverse childhood experiences, it is a clear indication of potential problems.

All of this means that adults who have high ACEs scores without intervention, have increased risk of smoking, alcohol abuse (7x as high), use of illicit drugs, suicide, promiscuity, obesity, etc.

So what do we as a community do with this knowledge? The first step is always awareness.  We must understand that a child who is living in an environment where there are adverse experiences will find it hard to perform well in school, academically and behaviorally.  We must also understand that the most important intervention needs to be as early as possible.  Prenatally, would be optimal! Young parents need to understand the impact these experiences have on their children and to learn how to parent effectively.  Good parenting programs are expensive but not as expensive as not doing them.

So what are we doing in Rock Hill and how can you help?  Over the last 18 months, there have been 4 larger trainings about this topic, with a total of about 400 people in attendance.  Additionally, the RHPD is currently being trained so that they can work from a trauma informed position.  Dr. Martha Edwards has done several trainings in our schools, at Affinity Health Care and in a variety of other settings. Our school district has hired a behavior interventionist for all of our elementary schools, the employees are viewing a wonderful film titled “Resilience”, and there are book studies about this topic in many of the schools.

A task force has been formed of community leadership that is planning a day long workshop for early fall.  This will include keynote speakers and breakout sessions so various groups can begin to grapple with the important question: what do I do? I am hoping you will want to attend this important event and will encourage others to do so.

While awareness is never enough, it alone has value. 

But we must continue to look at ways that help children build resilience.  One of the best ways is for them to be heard.  We constantly hear of people who have suffered their whole life because they did not or could not share their pain.  We have to make sure children feel safe and comfortable with someone. 

Prevention is a bigger and more challenging issue but the critical one.  It is a way of no longer just pulling babies out of the river, but stopping their being thrown in.  This will require great community and political will; however, there is no other choice.