Four ACEs Is Not A Winning Hand!
Sure, you can sit at a poker table and get pretty excited if you’re holding 4 aces. You’d probably bet a lot of money on what you think is a winning hand. If you did win, you’d be telling everyone you know how great it was to have 4 aces!
Well, it’s not always great to have 4 aces. Let me give you a new definition of what aces are… adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Childhood abuse, neglect, and exposure to other traumatic stressors are ACEs, and the more you have the worse it can be!
You see, most of us have had some type of adverse childhood experience. Almost two thirds of the study participants (more than 17,000 people) had at least 1 ACE on a scale of zero to 10. Implications of ACEs for you and me can be serious, but even more so for our children.
The ACE Study (a collaboration between Kaiser Permanente and Centers for Disease Control) uncovered a stunning link between childhood trauma and chronic diseases people develop as adults, as well as social and emotional problems. This includes heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes and many autoimmune diseases, as well as depression, violence, being a victim of violence, and suicide.
The study’s researchers developed this ACE scoring system to explain a person’s risk for chronic disease. It’s kind of like a cholesterol score for childhood toxic stress. You get one point for each type of trauma. The higher your ACE score, the higher your risk of health and social problems.
In my state, Montana, 60% of adults had at least 1 ACE, and 17% had 4 or more. There seems to be a tipping point at 4 ACEs. The odds of negative health and social outcomes increases dramatically if you have 4 ACEs. See? Four aces is not a winning hand!
Take the ACE survey for yourself. It may open your eyes as to why you feel or act the way you do. It may provide some relief to know you are not alone. You can find a survey here: www.WhatsYourACEscore.com
Let’s back children and money.
When hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012, it was devastating. The cost to the U.S. was over $60 million! But because they had an early warning system, literally thousands of lives were saved and serious injuries were avoided. The ACE Study is an early warning system for us in regards to our children.
Because we now have scientific data linking ACEs to chronic illness, negative social behaviors and even early death, we have an amazing opportunity to reduce and avoid ACEs in our children. Our children can live healthier lives just because parents, teachers, judges, healthcare workers, social workers, friends and neighbors become aware of ACEs and work to avoid them.
The cost of ACEs is incredibly high when you consider hospital visits, medications, long-term care, criminal behavior, drug & alcohol addictions, prison, etc. On the positive side, children with reduced ACEs are more likely to graduate high school, be healthier, become productive in the workforce, pay taxes, be good neighbors, and good parents themselves!
By the way, lest you think that the ACE Study was yet another study involving inner-city poor people, take note: The study’s participants were 17,400 mostly white, middle and upper-middle class college-educated people with good jobs and great health care – they all belonged to the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization.
The news is not all bad. Dr. Robert Anda, co-principal investigator of the ACE Study, says, “Adversity is not destiny”. Because you have ACEs (even a lot of them) it doesn’t mean your life is destined for failure. However, ACEs are serious issues, and we must do all we can to assure our children have the best possible futures because the well-being of our children is the most important thing on Earth. Yes, there are very important issues in our world that need solutions. But if our children are not healthy physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, these solutions won’t come forth, because it is in their hands and hearts where the solutions lie.
Learn more about the ACE Study and tell your family, friends, neighbors and peers. It’s that important!
Todd Garrison is the executive director of the ChildWise Institute, which will present “Elevate Montana: The Adverse Childhood Experience Study Summit” in Billings, MT on May 29th & 30th. To register, go to childwise.org/category/events. For more information, email cathy@childwise.org
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