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Adverse childhood experiences are a huge threat to our students, diminishing their capacity to learn and succeed. We know from the research that our students suffer when they endure ACEs in the form of abuse, neglect, hunger, and living with parents who misuse substances, are violent, and have untreated mental health challenges. We know in some classrooms as many as three quarters of the students endure three or more ACEs. Our students want help for themselves and their struggling parents.

As promised, I have diligently worked on putting kids and families first. I have worked with the Potts Family Foundation to move the conversation of children in trauma forward in House District 20. The Potts Family Foundation has a powerful video called, Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope. Together we brought this video to two of our school districts in HD20 and are working to bring it to the others for teachers’ professional development in August. Through House Bill...

Friday, April 12, 2019 marked an exciting, auspicious, and perhaps pivotal day in the history of Monroe County, Indiana. That’s a lot of adjectives—and pressure—to pile onto just another glorious spring day in Bloomington. But I think many folks who virtually congregate on a site that supports communities implementing trauma-informed and resilience-building practices grounded in ACEs science would agree that a county’s first-ever ACEs conference deserves a little ballyhoo. But this ACEs...

Data is being collected to support the theory that where a child grows up can have a large impact on the developing brain. Friday at the Stillwater Public Library, childhood development experts weighed in on the 2019 State of Babies report (stateofbabies.org) that graded each state, and showed a lot of room to grow for Oklahoma’s rural communities. Room to grow was a euphemism the program used to mean that things could be a lot better for infants and toddlers in Oklahoma. Resilient Payne...

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the annual National Council for Behavioral Health Conference. I have been to my fair share of conferences but #NatCon19 was one of the best. First, I'm biased. It took place in my city, Nashville, TN . And the venue was the world renowned Opryland Hotel's Gaylord Convention Center . And, I love, love, love the Opryland Hotel ! As any seasoned conference goer, I had a strategy when it came to which sessions and events I wanted to attend. My game...

The preacher speaking at the pulpit almost paused as a man walked into the church. The Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong was delivering the eulogy at his mother's funeral in 1998, and he was startled, then angered, to see his mother's longtime companion — a man who had abused her, as well as Armstrong and all three of his brothers, a man who had been with her when she fatally overdosed. Armstrong wanted to leap out of the pulpit and chase the villain out of the church. Only his grandmother's audible...

Nearly one-third of Oklahoma children have had multiple adverse childhood experiences, an audience of advocates for children was told Thursday evening. The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, in conjunction with the Tulsa World and Tulsa Lawyers for Children, showcased the film “ Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope” on Thursday evening at the Circle Cinema. The film was a lead-in to the topic of adverse child experiences, also known as ACEs, and an hour-long...

“What our students really crave the most is predictability from the adults interacting with them,” says Roger Sapp, a student success teacher at KIPP. For that reason, the one-on-one session is not a reward for being “good” or withheld if something bad happens. The kids who need it can count on it – every day. The scene is from a video by Edutopia (aka the George Lucas Educational Foundation), which has produced a series of more than 20 powerful, engaging shorts on how children learn in...

Several faith organizations and other agencies are joining forces to offer a special clergy training conference. The "Faith Communities Protecting Children: Recognizing and Responding to Adverse Childhood Experiences Conference" is set for 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 2, 2019, at Metro Tech Business Conference Center, 1900 Springlake Drive. "We strongly believe that faith-based organizations can and do play an important role in the prevention and healing of children who have experienced trauma.

Oklahoma's own researchers - Yui Yamaoka, MD, PhD and David E. Bard, PhD Conclusion: The number of adverse childhood experiences was associated with both social−emotional deficits and developmental delay risks in early childhood; however, positive parenting practices demonstrated robust protective effects independent of the number of adverse childhood experiences. This evidence further supports promotion of positive parenting practices at home, especially for children exposed to high levels...

Tulsa has a variety of innovative health and wellness programs targeting the young to the elderly, including one aimed to prevent children from lashing out when faced with stressful situations. The new program, called “mindfulness training,” is coordinated through Family & Children’s Services and incorporates yoga, breathing exercises and other strategies. “There are groups of kids who have challenges with anger, getting along with others,” said Ginger Page, principal at Wright...

As a follow-up to the " Are You OK? You Are Not Alone Anymore" Resource Poster , there have been important discussions in many local and statewide coalitions about "Windows of Opportunity" to build trust and provide a warm handoff to these critical services. However, as we know through research, individuals with untreated trauma may have difficulty trusting strangers, organizations or government agencies, even if they are wanting to help. Often times, these individuals are experiencing...