In this episode, Tricia invites back Rebecca Corb, a registered clinical social worker in The Guidance Center’s Long Beach School-Based Program, to discuss a screening tool that measures Adverse Childhood Experiences, also referred to as ACEs.
ACEs specifically refer to adverse, or traumatic, experiences a child may endure growing up, that have a negative impact in childhood and beyond into adulthood. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “ACEs can have lasting, negative effects on health, wellbeing during childhood and (future) life opportunities, such as education and job potential. These experiences can increase the risks of injury, sexually transmitted infections, maternal and child health problems, including teen pregnancy, pregnancy complications and fetal death, involvement in sex trafficking and a wide range of chronic diseases and leading causes of death, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and suicide.”
Unresolved ACEs can lead to toxic stress in children, which negatively affects brain development, immune systems and stress-response systems. As the CDC reports, “this can affect children’s attention, decision-making and learning.” It also negatively impacts the formation of healthy relationships. Given this foundation, it is unsurprising that, unless the childhood trauma is treated, it leads to chronic struggles well into adulthood.
In My Backyard is brought to you by The Guidance Center, a children’s mental health agency in Long Beach, CA. In My Backyard is produced by Tricia Costales and Matthew Murray. Thank you to Jay Vincent B for original music. All other music licensed through SoundStripe. Thank you to our listeners and supporters.
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