I shared the blog post below on ACEsConnection a little while ago.
I keep thinking about images when it comes to PTSD and also ACEs.
The cultural image of PTSD is something that still tends to be of soldiers.
How do we go about changing that.
I'm hoping a better understanding of ACEs, in the general public, will eventually change the images we tend to have and use as well.
But what images should be shown? What images do people have of ACEs and what do we hope they (we) will have?
I know even doing my own blog posts I am reluctant to share any photos of children because they can't give permission to share them, for the most part.
So, I want to protect their privacy and even when I share a photo of my daughter, here, as a baby - I always ask her first if it's o.k.
So, this wanting to protect children is probably part of the reason they are not visible in Google searches for PTSD.
But it's also the fact that people have trouble talking and thinking about adversity in childhood.
It's hard to grasp or talk about and there's lots of shame and denial - though things are certainly changing thanks to this site and others.
But in a time when images and social media sharing are so big, I keep thinking about images.
The ones we see and don't see.
Because, even for adult women, when it comes to PTSD, there are few images unless one searched specifically for women and PTSD.
So I'm also wondering what the images for ACEs are right now for ACEs and Adverse Childhood Experiences when doing a Google search.
Here they are:
ACEs in a Google Search (top results):
Adverse Childhood Experiences in a Google Search (top results):
They are mostly the ACEs pyramid and some charts.
I saw a few posts on Facebook by Donna Jackson Nakazawa with children in them. Here are two:
and
What do YOU think? What do YOU use?
Does anyone else ever use stock photos and images of children when posting about these topics?
As parents, we have to think a lot about if and when we share images of our kids?
But also as activists and professionals - how do we reach people?
I'm not sure what I think yet.
What do you think? What do you do?
I know many people are also sensitive to triggers and triggering others. And that's an issue for people as well.
I personally don't think open and honest conversations and images of reality are harmful. I think that's journalism and positive. I don't think we have enough depictions of reality and silence and invisibility are far more common, toxic and dangerous than triggers.
I know this isn't a universal view though.
What's your take?
Here's the original blog post mentioned above.
Former foster children are almost twice as likely to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as U.S. war veterans, according to a study released Wednesday by the Harvard Medical School (HMS), the University of Michigan and Casey Family Programs.
This important article by Candice N. Plotkin helps challenge the cultural image that those with PTSD are mainly men traumatized by combat. It was shared on Facebook today.
What surprised me though - beyond the headline - is that the article was written 11 years ago!
It's been more than a decade since it was been published but I think many might still be surprised that children get such high rates of PTSD, in and outside of foster care.
I did a Google search for PTSD this morning and it shows no children at all (or women).
Unless you search specifically for women or children and PTSD you won't see any images of either.
At all. It continues to surprise me. Anyhow, here are a few more excerpts from that original article and some links to more recent information as well:
According to the study, 65 percent of children in foster care experience seven or more school changes from elementary to high school. Following the age of 18, the foster care system no longer has an obligation to provide foster children with family placements.
And
The study suggests that states should not only help kids within the foster care network, but also provide assistance to its alumni. Beyond lengthening placements and providing more social service workers to foster children, the provision of social and financial support for alumni may counteract future mental health risks.Full article.
More recent and general information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published this year:
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