u003cpu003eu003ca href=u0022https://pcaaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pexels-maria-lindsey-content-creator-1497394-scaled.jpgu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022size-medium wp-image-12061 alignleftu0022 src=u0022https://pcaaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pexels-maria-lindsey-content-creator-1497394.jpgu0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022300u0022 height=u0022200u0022 /u003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003eBy Claire Louge, Executive Directoru003c/emu003eu003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eI frequently give trainings on the ACEs study. I talk about how the study shows a direct correlation between the number of ACEs and the risk of developing major health and social problems. I talk about how ACEs affect brain development, and that they can shape brains to be more reactive to stressors and less equipped to cope with those stressors, which in turn affects behavior, health, relationships, and generally, a person’s whole life. When I present this, I always get one question:u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eIs there any hope?u003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eYou know the answer to this question. It’s probably the reason you’re in this field. The answer is u003cstrongu003eyes, of courseu003c/strongu003e. There is so much hope, and that’s why we do what we do.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eu003ca href=u0022https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.htmlu0022u003eThe ACEs Studyu003c/au003e revolutionized the health, education, and human service sectors. Finally, we had clear evidence on something we had all intuitively known: child adversity is bad for us. It’s bad for people. It’s bad for our whole society. It’s bad for our collective economy. It’s bad for our health. It has a relationship to most every other bad thing we want to stop. We want to prevent ACEs from happening.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eBut if a person has experienced ACEs, which u003cemu003emost of us haveu003c/emu003e, it does not mean they are doomed to a life of negative outcomes.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eAdversity is not destiny. u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eOf course we want to prevent ACEs from happening. But once they have happened, there is a lot we can do to mitigate their effects. Newer research by Dr. Bob Sege and his team demonstrates that u003ca href=u0022https://positiveexperience.org/u0022u003ePositive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)u003c/au003e are more powerful predictors of a person’s positive outcomes than ACEs are predictive of negative outcomes. There’s one common thread among all PCEs, which include having close friends in high school, feeling that your family has stood by you, and having adult mentors: they all have to do with relationships. Positive, nurturing relationships. Whereas ACEs are an absence, or a loss, of those relationships, PCEs are the presence of those relationships.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eRelationships prevent ACEs. They also build resilience to them.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eIt turns out, in all the complex ways that we are working to strengthen families and protect children, with all the grants we give or get, the programs we tirelessly run, the trainings we deliver, the strategies we create, we’re all essentially working to do one thing: u003cstrongu003ebuild positive, nurturing relationshipsu003c/strongu003e.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eBecause we know adversity is largely preventable, and so we want to prevent it. And adversity is not destiny, so when it has happened, we want to address it.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eThis April Child Abuse Prevention Month, I hope you remember that despite how grueling, thankless, or complicated your work may often feel, you’re doing extraordinary, powerful things.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eP.S. If you’d like to u003cstrongu003eget trained to deliver presentations on ACEs and resilienceu003c/strongu003e, our partners at the ACEs Consortium are holding an u003ca href=u0022https://azaces.org/event/spring-aces-training-of-trainers/2022-04-26/u0022u003eACEs Training of Trainersu003c/au003e starting later this month.u003c/pu003e
