Why we need to keep telling everyone about ACEs

Last month I had the privilege of being a speaker at the Atlantic Health Systems Conference "Empowering Adaptable Communities."  I was asked to give a 10 minute "TED-like" talk about ACEs. Leading up to the event I was anxious and nervous...my inner critic kept posing these questions:  "could I get my message across in 10 minutes?"  "wouldn't they all already know the information?" "could I speak without notes?" "could I pull this off?"  The day arrived and my anxiety was palpable.  One of my co-presenters wisely said to me "remember it's not about you - it's about what you have to say."  And she was right.  My well rehearsed talk went off with out a hitch but more importantly the information moved not only the audience but many of my co-presenters.  One of them, Dr. Jane Aronson, a warm, wise pediatrician who is the founder of an amazing international organization, World Wide Orphans, recently spoke at her gala about how learning about ACEs that day transformed her personally and professionally.  You can read her powerful comments in this blog on the Huffington Post.  I think we can now count Dr. Aronson as another champion, or as I like to call us, ACEs Activist.  No doubt there are many more Dr. Aronsons out there who can join us in our effort to raise awareness about ACEs and ultimately prevent and reduce their impact, they just need to know about them.