Toxic stress in children is a topic Montanans are beginning to hear more about.
Researchers have been discovering that children raised with certain traumas -- known as Adverse Childhood Experiences -- can suffer lifelong impacts.
Traumatic experiences such as neglect or emotional, physical or sexual abuse cause the child’s brain to flood with cortisol, a chemical the body releases as part of its fight-or-flight response when threatened.
When the brain floods with cortisol, it affects the biology of brain development.
One way to counter the impacts of toxic stress is fostering resilience in kids.
This was the main focus of a talk Thursday by keynote speaker, author and pediatrician Kenneth Ginsburg at a two-day ChildWise Institute conference opening Thursday morning at the Best Western Great Northern Hotel.
“The most protective things in anyone’s life are unconditional love and high expectations,” said Ginsburg, whose specialty is adolescent medicine.
[For more of this story, written by Marga Lincoln, go to http://helenair.com/news/educa...23-64126d619132.html]
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