As a trauma survivor of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s), I know first hand the challenges the youth are experiencing growing up in poverty stricken areas riddled with drugs and gun violence. I was able to survive those high stress environments but not without severe PTSD, anxiety, suppressed childhood memory and academic struggles. School staff was unable to figure out why I was struggling a
cademically. This cycle transpired from Elementary School through High School. I attended Summer School several times so I could advance to the next grade. When I made it to the 11th grade, I had matured, using music plus art as coping mechanisms; I finished my Junior & Senior year with a 3.0 GPA. Over the years, the more I analyzed research and studied brain function; human behavior is when I realized the impact childhood trauma had on my life. During my research, I stumbled across ACE’s Aware website. The ACEs Aware initiative is a first-in-the nation effort to screen patients for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to help improve and save lives. I took the 10 questions pre-screening and my score was a 7. That score 7 out of 10 indicates that I experienced extreme childhood trauma. Why should adult patients be screened for ACEs? Over the past 20 years, studies have demonstrated the impact of exposure to ACEs on adult morbidity and mortality. There are several critical ways that screening for ACEs can benefit adult patients:
ACE screening can improve clinical assessment, patient education, and treatment planning for chronic health conditions. ACE screening helps providers and patients address behavioral pathways to ACE-Associated Health Conditions. ACE screening can validate and empower patients and contribute to improved family health.
Why screen children and adolescents for ACEs? Children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of an overactive stress response because their brains and bodies are still developing. While the plasticity in the brain during early childhood and adolescence is a source of vulnerability to ACEs, there is also an opportunity for effective intervention and treatment. Annual ACE screening:
Routine screenings for children can capitalize on critical opportunities for prevention, early detection, and intervention. ACE screening can prevent and reduce the accumulation of exposures to adversity and the risk for negative health outcomes. Screening improves clinical assessment for and treatment of childhood health conditions.
