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The early years matter because, in the first few years of life, more than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second. * Neural connections are formed through the interaction of genes and a baby’s environment and experiences, especially “ serve and return ” interaction with adults, or what developmental researchers call contingent reciprocity. These are the connections that build brain architecture – the foundation upon which all later learning, behavior, and health depend. [For...

African-American Harvard students are holding their own graduation ceremony this year “to give voice to the voiceless,” as the Harvard Black Graduate Student Alliance president Michael Huggins told Boston.com . This is the kind of racial self-affirming and self-protecting practice that has been spreading across U.S. campuses in response to microaggressions and inflammatory racist incidents . These activities seem to acknowledge that these black students are graduating into workforces and...

More than 1 in 10 American children spend more than half their childhood in poverty—that’s a whopping nine million kids. Most of these children, the majority of whom are African American, are trapped in a cycle of deprivation: As young adults, they’re unlikely to be in school or working, and their children will likely follow a similar path. But a small percentage manage to escape their circumstances and become economically successful. [For more of this story, written by Mimi Kirk, go to ...

“Almost half the nation’s children have experienced at least one or more types of serious childhood trauma, according to a new survey on adverse childhood experiences by the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). This translates into an estimated 34,825,978 children nationwide, say the researchers who analyzed the survey data.” - Jane Ellen Stevens , ACEsTooHigh.com Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) shows that people who suffer early childhood neglect and abuse get sick...

On May 23 at 7 PM, Chicago Volunteer Doulas will present a special screening and panel discussion of The Chicago Maternity Center Story , an important documentary recently restored by Kartemquin Films. Birth center and home birth delivery for low risk women, doulas (trained labor support coaches) and breast-feeding support all help to optimize birth outcomes for mothers and babies, prevent re-traumatization of women and families, and set the stage for secure attachment relationships, which...

Over the past two years, I have written a column for Forbes . On several occasions, I have highlighted the medical consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE's) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The data is clear. Both if not recognized and treated produce negative health care outcomes. Both are very prevalent and asking about each should be standard for physicians and medical practice. But both tend to be ignored by clinicians in American health care today. Jane Stevens suggested...

For 72 years, Hanna Boys Center has been a place of refuge for disadvantaged boys – boys who, largely by circumstance, were in trouble. Dysfunctional homes, neighborhood violence, feral upbringings, drug abuse: Hanna Boys Center has sheltered all kinds. Over those decades Hanna Boys Center has established itself as a leader in transformational protocols, a vanguard on the fractious front advocating for at-risk youth. ..... ..... Trauma-informed care argues that children who’ve experienced...

As you walk through the courtyard of the Sonoma (California) Charter School (SCS) sounds of stomping feet, clapping hands, and children’s voices singing “round and round” and “shake shake” pour from the performing arts space called the Playbox. Inside, 10 first-graders wearing silk tunics, holding brightly colored fabric pieces , wriggle on the floor like worms, jumping like kangaroos, then gently throw feathers from an imaginary bird in the air. You’ve stepped into the world of...

Any form of alienation, discrimination , and violence inflicted on an individual due to their race is wrong. So, what effect can these experiences have on young people in school? And how are these experiences exacerbated when young people lack support from their teachers? According to Smith and colleagues (2003), children who feel they experience barriers in school and display racial distrust for teachers will demonstrate declines in academic performance. Negative experiences in school,...

Women are being incarcerated at a higher rate than ever in Montana and across the nation and most of them are serving time for non-violent crimes. Twila Johnke, 36, has been in and out of prison since 2001 for crimes of forgery, drug possession, and distribution. Like most of the inmates at the Montana Women’s Prison, Johnke is serving time for a non-violent crime. In fact, a 2017 Montana Corrections report revealed that seven out of 10 women, compared to three out of 10 men, are locked up...

"We have taken up the age-old challenge of poverty and we don't intend to lose generations of our children to this enemy of the human race," President Lyndon B. Johnson said 52 years ago Thursday when launching the Head Start program. More than half a century on, Head Start has provided early childhood development and comprehensive services to millions of children and currently serves nearly 1 million. Over time it's evolved and changed in numerous ways. But Johnson's words still reflect the...

We function throughout the day thanks to habits that are nearly automatic: wake up, brush teeth, make coffee. Transforming behaviors into habits saves our brains from having to exert extra effort to make decisions, and this can work to our benefit: Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps broke world records by fine-tuning his habits , for example. But what about those other habits—like smoking cigarettes, stress-eating, or constantly checking our social media—that may be holding us back? In his new...