The mental health of children was at the forefront of a discussion led by the First Lady of Oklahoma in Duncan today.
The event started with a showing of the documentary Resilience, which focuses on studies into how experiencing trauma as a child could negatively impact you as an adult.
Those studies centered around a test called the ACE Test, with ACE standing for adverse childhood experiences. That test asks you questions about your childhood, such as if you were ever abused, if you lived with someone who did drugs or was an alcoholic or if your parents were divorced growing up. The research from the studies showed that the more boxes you checked yes on, the more likely you were to encounter other issues as an adult.
"We’re seeing that with the opioid epidemic, we’re seeing that with chronic heart disease, diabetes, obesity, a lot of these chronic health problems that adults have have been tied back to childhood adversity,” said Linda Manaugh with the Potts Family Foundation.
"I think this is an integral part of teaching our communities and giving information to our communities and our school systems and the medical field and just our parents in general, or grandparents, or foster parents. Whoever is raising these children, giving them the tools they need and it really opens your eyes and you look at things through a different lens and it’s so helpful,” Stitt said.
Stitt partnered with the Potts Family Foundation, which has been showing the documentary around the state in hopes of educating as many people as possible and sparking a change in our state’s future.
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