Using Visual Storytelling to Inform About ACEs

I'm a therapist and would like to see ACEs become a greater part of health-care screenings at all levels. I have a new book coming out this summer that talks about how ACES can help heal wounds that impact our relationships and marriages. Would like to see one of your stories that can help couples start their relationship on a firmer footing. Happy to chat with you. Write me Jed@MenAlive.com (respond to my spamarrest filter) or call me at 707 354 0758.

My particular interest is to educate community leaders (pastors, teachers, rec center leaders, etc.) about the impact of trauma on the folks they may serve on a daily basis, and secondly, to make them aware of possible vicarious trauma in themselves.

I think this art form is a GREAT tool for both endeavors. 

Daun Kauffman posted:

Is it just me, or is there no audio ?

No audio yet. :-) I didn't make it a priority in the prototype video, but I'll make a v1.1 later this week, which should have audio and improved content according to the feedback from the community.

Tina Marie Hahn, MD posted:

How to talk to the people with the money..

That's a very important topic, and we should definitely explore that.

Any suggestions as to how to make persuasive arguments for resources (money, hands, facilities, etc.)?

Robbyn Peters Bennett posted:

This is AMAZING! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I am connected to quite a few parenting educators online who have pretty big followings.

Here are a few ideas:
1. How ending spanking can help end child abuse. See my ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLMJHdySgE8

2. How the two most important responses to the ACES is to increase parental resilience and teach positive parenting (You can use any of my material on this, and I would be happy to dig up any necessary research needed)

What you are doing is so cool, and people really watch these videos!

Here is my latest meme addressing a recent study where how children feel about the way they are parented is associated with epigenetic alterations.

https://www.facebook.com/prote.../?type=3&theater

Hi Robbyn,

Thanks for your enthusiasm and support!

I really share your impression that people watch videos like this. When done right (and I'm not saying that mine is - more on that later), they can provide rhetorically effective means of conveying the gist of complex issues, while making them enjoyable and easy to share and digest.

For the purposes of raising the awareness of the broader public and specific groups about ACEs, I think that a well-produced one- or two-minute video with animated storytelling like this would have a higher chance of going viral on Facebook than an article, which would require that people make a larger perceived investment (reading a lengthy document).

But why stop at telling just one story? It would be trivial to produce videos targeted at multiple target audiences and in different languages, and I definitely think we should. In this context, I think that you have some excellent ideas, Robbyn!

Now, about the effort required to produce videos like this, I should inform you guys about the fact that I work in the part of the software industry where we focus on quickly iterating on ideas and on producing "minimum viable products" early.

I wanted to produce an example of a video with just a good-enough storyline and good-enough visual quality to hopefully get people in the community excited about using this format for storytelling about ACEs - and it seems I succeeded in doing this. :-)

The best thing is really that it only took me a couple of hours to produce this video (and I intentionally skipped audio, but could easily have included it). Not because I am exceptionally bright, but because the tools available are so easy and efficient. However, I have prior experience with video production and software like this, so this has probably helped my efficiency.

On this tangent I should say that I would love to establish and facilitate an "ACEs Storytelling" working group that could brainstorm and discuss the stories we would like to tell, and how to tell them.

However, I should tell you all that I am biased towards avoiding the design-by-committee route where everybody have to agree on everything before producing a video, but rather exploring different idea, producing "working prototypes" early, and then quickly choosing whether to discard them or to keep iterating on them, improving the storyline and the effects used.

Robbyn, I personally think that your content and ideas are really good, and I would love to work with you on building storytelling videos based on your content. I'll try to hook up with you through a PM right away. :-)

Best,
Thomas

Peter Chiavetta posted:

A phone ap for ACEs would be great. So often I do not have my survey with me for ambulance calls I ride on. Then when I'm hooking friends into the ACEs circle, it would be great to pull out my phone to feed more information to them. Plus, with an Ap it makes the whole process less intimidating. 

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your feedback. 

I would love to learn more about the perspective you describe! 

With the technology we're developing with the ACE Toolkit, I think that we have a unique possibility of quickly screening the patient on mobile devices, and making that available to the professionals further downstream (like nurses and doctors in the hospital, and later in primary care, and with social workers, etc.).

Would you like to discuss this topic further with me?

Also, the ACE Toolkit is currently not an app store-delivered app, but it will be within a couple of months, in addition to being available as a mobile web app (as now)

Best,
Thomas

James Gallant posted:

Thomas, Please consider upgrading your video [at 00:15 >>> 00:25] by clearly citing "Felitti VJ, et al, ACE Study (1998) (www.acestudy.org)"  instead of just (ACES) in the upper right hand corner. 

Some folks are using the ACE acronym and capitalizing the phrase 'adverse childhood experience' as a noun, without properly citing the source of the actual definition of that term.

Properly citing the ACE Study, would help answer the clearly vague question: "What are ACEs?" and help ensure aproper context for future inquiry and research that appears to be "drifting a bit off topic" rather quickly.

Some folks may use your lack of proper citation to avoid the most obvious next question stemming from the ACE Study, "What can we do [right now] about these ten (10) specific ACEs?", before moving on to consider what we can do about some of the other closely related forms of adversity.

In my opinion, there's only ten (10) categories of trauma that can legitimately be labeled as "Adverse Childhood Experiences" or "ACE(s)" at this time;

1. The ten "ACEs" were established by the officially published findings of the "ACE Study (1998)", in the context and limitations of that specific study conducted by Dr. Felitti (Kaiser Perm.) and Dr. Anda (CDC).
2. All other forms of adverse childhood experiences and trauma 'should not' be referred to by the acronym "ACE(s)" or use the capitalized phrase "Adverse Childhood Experience" as a noun. 
3. The "ACE Study (1998)" only speaks to those ten forms of "ACEs".  
4. All ten "ACEs" are essentially co-equal in terms of long-term effects.
5. [Example]: Think about a person with an "ACE" score of one (1), "Divorce".
6. An "ACE" of "Divorce" clearly increases the relative lifetime risk for attempting suicide in human beings [every time].
7. The known relative risk for attempting suicide can be lowered (but not eliminated) by the presence of specific protective factors.
8. What should the helping professions do about the "ACE" in this example?
9. I think they should first ensure the persons safety , then consider all legal rights issues, and then continue considering the circumstances surrounding the divorce [while] they're addressing the ongoing physical and emotional needs of the individual being served.

People who experience "Divorce" (including the children) need help acquiring the skills to effectively protect themselves and their legal rights so they can feel safe. [a.k.a.] Refer people directly to appropriate 'court services' to address their known immediate legal needs and to help teach them the life skills they need to address legal rights issues on their own. [a.k.a.] Prescribe a procedure.

---

 

Please consider the following excerpt from the current ethical standards of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), USA;  

"Ethical Principles...Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person...Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person...Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs...Value: Importance of Human Relationships...Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships...Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities."

" Ethical Standards...1. SOCIAL WORKERS’ ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO CLIENTS...1.03 Informed Consent...(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent...social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner consistent with clients’ wishes and interests..."

---

 

Please carefully consider how one seemingly small omission (proper citation) could negatively affect the course of history in addressing legitimate forms "Adverse Childhood Experiences" ("ACES") worldwide.

At some point the ACE Study (1998) might stop being cited at all, get shuffled into a mile high pile of academic rhetoric, and then there's no turning back to "check the facts" because the facts weren't properly cited. 

Otherwise, this video is pretty cool!

James Gallant

 

James, I must say I take exception to a number of points in your "political manifesto". Firstly, it's lousy science -- as if a single study could ever define anything in the psychosocial field!! What's most significant about the original study is the many studies it "spawned". Clearly, for statistical purposes, only, the ten categories were chosen, but subsequent studies have found that other, on the surface milder (but for some profoundly disturbing), forms of childhood adversity can have similar effects to those of the original ten -- it's a purely empirical matter, always subject to later research. Something that's crucial to recovery is validation of one's experience and your prescriptive approach risks invalidating the very real trauma some people have experienced -- while attempting to validate the experience of those who have suffered one or more of the ten.

Please also don't forget that you're writing for a general audience, and citing material from the ethical code of one profession, in one country or state, has no relevance more generally -- it's not a statement of anything universal.

Frankly, I find the overall tone of your submission somewhat offensive, to myself,  a retired psychologist of over 30 years experience, as a survivor of childhood adversity, and as a support person and advocate for other survivors.

At some point (already!) the original study might stop being cited, in the light of more pertinent, in-depth, research into various aspects of the multitudinous effects of different types of suffering children experience, and that's just customary scientific practice.

Thomas, Please consider upgrading your video [at 00:15 >>> 00:25] by clearly citing "Felitti VJ, et al, ACE Study (1998) (www.acestudy.org)"  instead of just (ACES) in the upper right hand corner. 

Some folks are using the ACE acronym and capitalizing the phrase 'adverse childhood experience' as a noun, without properly citing the source of the actual definition of that term.

Properly citing the ACE Study, would help answer the clearly vague question: "What are ACEs?" and help ensure aproper context for future inquiry and research that appears to be "drifting a bit off topic" rather quickly.

Some folks may use your lack of proper citation to avoid the most obvious next question stemming from the ACE Study, "What can we do [right now] about these ten (10) specific ACEs?", before moving on to consider what we can do about some of the other closely related forms of adversity.

In my opinion, there's only ten (10) categories of trauma that can legitimately be labeled as "Adverse Childhood Experiences" or "ACE(s)" at this time;

1. The ten "ACEs" were established by the officially published findings of the "ACE Study (1998)", in the context and limitations of that specific study conducted by Dr. Felitti (Kaiser Perm.) and Dr. Anda (CDC).
2. All other forms of adverse childhood experiences and trauma 'should not' be referred to by the acronym "ACE(s)" or use the capitalized phrase "Adverse Childhood Experience" as a noun. 
3. The "ACE Study (1998)" only speaks to those ten forms of "ACEs".  
4. All ten "ACEs" are essentially co-equal in terms of long-term effects.
5. [Example]: Think about a person with an "ACE" score of one (1), "Divorce".
6. An "ACE" of "Divorce" clearly increases the relative lifetime risk for attempting suicide in human beings [every time].
7. The known relative risk for attempting suicide can be lowered (but not eliminated) by the presence of specific protective factors.
8. What should the helping professions do about the "ACE" in this example?
9. I think they should first ensure the persons safety , then consider all legal rights issues, and then continue considering the circumstances surrounding the divorce [while] they're addressing the ongoing physical and emotional needs of the individual being served.

People who experience "Divorce" (including the children) need help acquiring the skills to effectively protect themselves and their legal rights so they can feel safe. [a.k.a.] Refer people directly to appropriate 'court services' to address their known immediate legal needs and to help teach them the life skills they need to address legal rights issues on their own. [a.k.a.] Prescribe a procedure.

Please consider the following excerpt from the current ethical standards of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), USA;  

"Ethical Principles...Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person...Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person...Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs...Value: Importance of Human Relationships...Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships...Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities."

" Ethical Standards...1. SOCIAL WORKERS’ ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO CLIENTS...1.03 Informed Consent...(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent...social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner consistent with clients’ wishes and interests..."

Please carefully consider how one seemingly small omission (proper citation) could negatively affect the course of history in addressing legitimate forms "Adverse Childhood Experiences" ("ACES") worldwide.

At some point the ACE Study (1998) might stop being cited at all, get shuffled into a mile high pile of academic rhetoric, and then there's no turning back to "check the facts" because the facts weren't properly cited. 

Otherwise, this video is pretty cool!

James Gallant

There's no audio yet.

Is it just me, or is there no audio ?

How to talk to the people with the money..

This is AMAZING! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I am connected to quite a few parenting educators online who have pretty big followings.

Here are a few ideas:
1. How ending spanking can help end child abuse. See my ted talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLMJHdySgE8

2. How the two most important responses to the ACES is to increase parental resilience and teach positive parenting (You can use any of my material on this, and I would be happy to dig up any necessary research needed)

What you are doing is so cool, and people really watch these videos!

Here is my latest meme addressing a recent study where how children feel about the way they are parented is associated with epigenetic alterations.

https://www.facebook.com/prote.../?type=3&theater

I agree with Jane Stevens that, "This is cool, Thomas"!

Your efforts here may very well be the app that's embraced by the helping professions worldwide to develop an internationally accepted format for accurately accessing and disseminating this huge amount of scientific information about various forms of trauma and preventing/addressing these issues effectively.

That's why it's so vitally important to "fact check" all the new and upcoming 'wanna-be trauma-informed products and programs' as they're being developed to ensure fidelity to the original ACE Study (1998) findings and to ensure the credibility of our future efforts.

I trust that when you finish loading the (10) ACE categories and questions into your new e-toolkit's <ACE Screening> function, they'll appear exactly (verbatim) as stated in the original ACE Study (1998).

If this app does end up working and it's later found to contain significant amounts of inaccurate/paraphrased or excluded information, that would not be helpful in the big picture.

I also must respectfully disagree with Jane Stevens' position on the subject of "taking an ACEs history" vs. "completing an ACEs screening".

 Jane said; "Also, I suggest using the words "taking an ACEs history" rather than screening. I made that transition because, in the medical community, "screening" means that you follow up with some type of recommended medication or procedure depending on the outcome of the screen (e.g., screen for cholesterol, comes up positive, prescribe medication)".

If we now transpose my example of requiring all ACE screenings to list the ACE Study (1998) categories verbatim, we come up with this scenario;

• Child screens <positive> for "Divorce" or "Separation from a [living] Biological Parent".
• Identify the legal rights of all family members and/or needs for establishing legal rights.
• Write that down in the treatment plan.
• Ensure all future services are scheduled at times that "will not" interfere with current legal rights to be somewhere else [with someone else].
• Assess compliance with all legal rights of the child being served.
• When legal rights violations are alleged or suspected, officially refer the case directly back to the court with "competent jurisdiction" for a review and enforcement services if necessary.
• If warranted, contact Child Protective Services. Especially if the child already has a diagnosis of a developmental disability.
• The "Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000" clearly states that people with a developmental disability have the legal right to live their life <free of violations> of their legal/human rights.
• Easy as that!

It appears the medical community may be actively resisting the screening label knowing that they can continue to believe they don't have to follow up on these types of issues the same way they would follow up on a cholesterol screening (prescribing a procedure) because they're only "taking an ACEs History", they're not "screening" for anything. It then becomes someone else's job to "follow up".

That's a mighty convenient loophole for the professional folks out there that we're trying to convince to change the way they address trauma (ACEs) in their professions.

I think the label should stay "screening" to specifically elicit those feelings and thoughts, on the part of the medical community, that these issues warrant a comprehensive response that's co-equal to following up on a positive cholesterol screening.

Lets do a <ACEs Connections - Community Survey> to assess the thoughts on this "history" vs. "screening" issue. 

Keep up the good work Thomas, This really is cool!!!

James Gallant

A phone ap for ACEs would be great. So often I do not have my survey with me for ambulance calls I ride on. Then when I'm hooking friends into the ACEs circle, it would be great to pull out my phone to feed more information to them. Plus, with an Ap it makes the whole process less intimidating.