As a single mother of two, Chippewa Falls resident Christiana Wald knows raising children can be difficult. Especially if those children have already gone through the trauma of divorce and separation.
Her daughter suffers from severe anxiety so bad Wald said she used to “literally tear rooms apart,” or throw tantrums in public spaces.
“People would look at her and think, ‘oh, there’s a naughty kid,” Wald said. “Yeah, she’s behaving in such a manner, but she’s not really a naughty kid. She’s suffering from something she’s not able to express in a way that’s constructive.”
What she’s suffering from is an adverse childhood experience, which Wald thinks is from her daughter’s father being incarcerated, along with other issues that arose when her children were younger.
It’s also something Chippewa County officials and community members are hoping to address and reduce.
On Thursday, the Chippewa County Children, Youth and Family Committee held its second annual Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Summit on building resiliency, and 110 officials from county departments, school districts, hospitals, youth advocates and community members attended.
Last year’s summit addressed what ACEs are, CYF member Tina Buhrow said. This year, the goal was to figure out how to pool resources and create a plan of action to address children’s needs.
[For more of this story, written by Katy Macek, go to http://chippewa.com/news/local...0d-e62307bee31c.html]
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