The importance of developing comprehensive multigenerational approaches to building a child's resiliency to mitigate the harmful impacts childhood trauma starting from early childhood development and into adulthood.

1. JANUARY 28, 2018
ACEs into VICTORY
Childhood trauma can happen to anyone and persistent chronic childhood trauma can
negatively affect an individual’s health across his or her lifetime.
Therefore, as public system of care administrators and practitioners, research findings
indicate that we must deploy comprehensive multigenerational approaches that help
build resiliency throughout a child’s development.

2. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), the Child & Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) and
others have released significant studies and findings concerning “Adverse Childhood
Experiences or ACEs”.
The SAMHSA pyramid chart embedded in my blog and other similar CDC pyramid
charts represent a conceptual framework in understanding the implications and
negative lifetime impacts for the ACEs study.
Current research findings indicate that nearly half of our children under the age of 18
living in the United States have experienced at least “1” ACE and almost 20% of US
children under 18 have experienced more than “2” ACEs.
Most of the studies point to the fact that as the number of Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACEs) increase for a child, so will high-risk negative health outcomes
increase across the individual’s lifespan and may even lead to early death.
Adverse Childhood Experiences refers to a range of trauma and chronic stress which
includes some of the following: child living with a parent /primary caregiver’s substance
use disorders, living in a domestic violence environment, witnessing neighborhood
violence, mother treated violently, being a victim of physical/emotional/sexual abuse,
physical neglect, death of a parent/caregiver, and several others.
As I have stated in my earlier blog where I shared my lived experience of having between
4 to 5 Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that was persistent and toxic but I had an
amazing caring nurturing mother who reached out for family supportive services that
help strengthen my resiliency coping skills and reinforced positive decision-making
skills which empowered me to thrive and excel throughout my life:
https://importanceoffamilysupportservices.quora.com/WHY-DOES-FAMILY-
SUPPORT-MATTER
Experiencing multiple ongoing chronic persistent stress and toxic stress can impact a
child’s developing brain which means we must work collectively and collaboratively
across multiple systems, providers and generationally if we want our future children to
grow up to become stable healthy productive adults. Please read “A National Agenda
to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences” at http://www.cahmi.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/10/aces_agenda.pdf
In closing, as a Content and Context Expert (as professional and as a lived experience
of 4+ACEs) and I went on to become the 1st person in my family to graduate from high
school, college and obtaining my Master of Arts degree in Human Services, that is why I
entitled this short blog” ACEs into VICTORY”.
SOURCES:

3. www.cahmi,org/adverse-childhood-experiences-aces
www.childhealthdata.org
www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy
www.sesamestreetincommunities.org
https://www.samhsa.gov/capt/practicing-effective-prevention/prevention-behavioral-
health/adverse-childhood-experiences