ACEs: Caught in the Cross Fire [Contemporary Pediatrics]

Hi Dr. Hahn,
Thanks for sharing with the community how you first learned about the ACE study. For others reading this, my colleague and ACN Founder and Publisher  Jane Stevens did an in-depth interview with Dr. Hahn about her work in Michigan. Dr. Hahn you said that when you first began talking about the ACE study in 2004, "It wasn’t easy being excited and tryingto tell other physicians about something so important and the implications during a time when no one was discussing the ACE study. However, I have never given up. I will never give up." 

I am curious about what sort of responses you were getting back then? I also wonder if you can share with me examples of what turned any of those clinicians around who may have been skeptical at first? If you prefer, please private message me or write me at: ludesky@acesconnection.com. I'm looking into a story about what ultimately convinced late adopters to come around on ACEs science and the need to educate their patients about it.

Morris Green was one of my favorite professors at Indiana University.  He was on the editorial board of contemporary pediatrics and bright futures. I remember my first interaction on the developmental-behavioral pediatrics unit, he told me that I had an understanding of complicated family dynamics and a compassion that he had never seen before in a resident. I only had that ability because I had lived experience. I had lived similar struggles as those families we were seeing.  Dr. Green didn’t know about the ACEstudy then because it hadn’t been published, but the families he was working with all had lots of trauma.  We didn’t know it, but they had high ACE Scores.

I still have the reference he wrote for me as I applied for pediatric jobs after residency.   

 I believe this author is one of those trained under the MI ACE initiative grant. I know several people who were trained in the first group of the grant as I introduced them to the concept of ACEs when I lived up North in Alpena. I am hoping they are spreading what they have learned like wildfire. Our state needs this as we see child wellbeing plunge.    

There is nothing more important to me than getting the information out to the parents in my state about the science of adversity, Toxic Stress, Mind-Body effects and how we can turn this around with Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships.  Childhood adversity has away taken away the life of several members of my family, it took my mom, my dad, my brother and my sister,  so for me this is very personal. 

I’ve been talking about the ACE study since I learned of it in 2004 after reading an article in the Journal Pediatrics about Increased Infant Mortality in teen mothers with high ACE scores.  It wasn’t easy being excited and tryingto tell other physicians about something so important and the implications during a time when no one was discussing the ACE study. However, I have never given up. I will never give up.

I applaud you Dr. Stork for learning about the ACE study and being one of our trainers. I know Muskegon has a lot of trauma and so do we in rural MI - here in the thumb in Tuscola, Huron, Sanilac and my home counties of Iosco and Arenac things aren’t looking good either. Our Infant Mortality is through the roof and “deaths of dispair” by suicide, overdose, and the complications of addiction are a daily occurance.  I am hoping that I will be given the opportunity to join you with the last group from Mid-Michigan. 

The one thing I do know is that with every molecule of my breath, with every sub-atomic particle, I will not stop until everyone understands why this information is so important and I won’t stop until we reverse the cycle of ever increasing ACEs.   

Thanks