Blog

From Gail: ACN member Barbara Stern shared an email with me about "Lifestyle Medicine" including information from Dr. Dean Ornish, considered the "father" of Lifestyle Medicine. I read the note (included below) and saw a link to view the free introductory video. I have been following Dr. Ornish for some time and link his work on reversing heart disease so decided to watch the video. Although no one interviewed mentions ACEs, they talk about getting to the root causes of many behaviors which...

When Dawn Cretney from the UK sought in “Ask the Community” section of ACEs Connection practical advice and support for parents and teachers to help children and young people affected by the Manchester terror attack , she referenced the wisdom of “look for the helpers” as did writer Anthony Breznican in his touching tribute to Mister Rogers on the PBS News Hour Friday night. I’ve come late to the fan base of Fred Rogers but fortunately, there is still time left to impart my new appreciation...

A colleague of mine -- here in New Zealand!! -- recently passed the attached PDF, from Scotland, onto me. It concerns a relatively recent, and still developing, proposed trauma training framework. This might be helpful to others wishing to go further in introducing TIC in their own services. It includes a consideration of ACEs. Naturally, it needs to incorporate culture-specific additions or modifications to suit your local conditions. The document as it is likely has broad application.

Child care experts say it's dangerous for infants to sleep in the same bed with their parents. Now, researchers report that "baby boxes" and parent education can help reduce the unsafe practice. Bed-sharing is linked with sleep-related deaths in babies, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and accidental suffocation and strangulation, according to background information with this study. For the study, researchers at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia recruited more than...

State law recognizes that schools primarily serving expelled students, dropouts and students who had trouble coping in traditional schools should be held accountable for academic performance – but by different measurements. This month, the California State Board of Education began a more than year-long process to determine what those metrics should be, which schools should be measured by them and how the schools should fit into the larger system of accountability and school improvement the...

"Saving your children, family and loved ones from intergenerational Post Trauma Stress (PTS)…" “Let’s raise children who won’t have to recover from their childhoods.” ~ Pam Leo Following is an excerpt from my new book released for the 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII... Chapters The Wrath of Stigma Local Community, Partnerships, and Responsibility Parents, Teachers, and Mentors Teaching Kids Empathy & Compassion…The dangers of emotional numbness & denial… How Does Moral Injury...

Storytelling is always beautiful and that is true no matter what truth is being told. If a story has moved me to tears I don't feel sad I feel more alive, human, connected and maybe even overjoyed. To get to hear a story is like being able to watch a flower push through dirt. It's having the honor of being present at a birth and getting to see labor shift into new life. Hearing story isn't always dramatic. Sometimes, it's the exhale of relief, the coming home after grocery shopping and...

A growing number of organizations in Greater Richmond are working to educate the community about the impact of trauma on children and families. The effort involves service providers, educators, government agencies and community groups. In the first of an ongoing series on Trauma and Resilience, WCVE’s Catherine Komp has more for Virginia Currents . Learn More: Find information about the Greater Richmond Trauma Informed Community Network and follow ChildSavers to learn about upcoming...

Editor’s note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This article is the second in a series exploring how research into adverse childhood experiences – or ACEs – is helping researchers, therapists, parents, educators and the medical community better understand the lasting effects of trauma on mental health. Childhood trauma can have lifelong health, social and behavioral consequences. Research shows that different forms of abuse, neglect and related household stressors are unfortunately...

If you suffer from chronic pain, you've probably wished you could enter an alternate universe. Now, thanks to virtual-reality technology, you can, at least temporarily—and the result is an enormous reduction in physical suffering. That's the finding of a study published in the online journal PLoS One that featured 30 participants with various medical conditions causing chronic pain, most involving the spine or hips. Using an Oculus Rift headset, all spent five minutes exploring a 360-degree...

AS OF 2014, U.S. PUBLIC SCHOOLS REACHED A MAJOR MILESTONE: More than half (51%) of public school students were children of color and/or came from low-income families (qualify for a reduced or free school lunch). That shift represented a clear turning point toward greater diversity in America’s public schools and the need for a corresponding diversity of approaches in the nation’s classrooms. What is at stake if that need is left unmet? For one, resources: Students of color are more likely to...

In the eyes of the state of Maine, Laurie Kane is an able-bodied adult without dependents, and thus ineligible for most forms of government support. In her own eyes, it is hard to see how she is going to find housing, work, and stability without help. Kane is struggling to put her life back together amid a spell of homelessness that has lasted for three years. She has a severe anxiety condition, along with other health problems, and had suffered a panic attack on the day I met her. But she...