Hello All. I am an adoption social worker in Minnesota and my agency has been looking to enhance our parent trainings with more information about ACES. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for some free, short, online webinars, podcasts, etc for parenting children with ACES or adopting children with an ACE score.
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Dear Abigail:
The Attachment Trauma Network is doing a Creative Trauma Sensitive Parents summit which will be available in the fall. I know a lot of parents and social workers who know about parenting with ACEs. Sometimes that means the parent/s has the ACEs and sometimes the child (through birth, foster, kinship care or adoption) has ACEs or the impact of ACEs. There are blog posts and resources in both the Parenting with ACEs Community and the ACEs Connection Resource Center that are relevant and link to videos.
Top of mind, here are a few places to start:
This Donna Jackson Nakazawa has a lot of free, online videos about ACEs, in general, and also about parenting. Here are a few from her.
These are some of my favorite videos about ACEs which are available on YouTube. Some give an ACEs study overview, some are about the Pair of ACEs & racial trauma, a few touch on parenting (though agree that there's not yet enough):
There's lots of gems and resources in blog posts, the resource center, comments and prior chats. We had a full year-long Parenting with ACEs series where parents and those who work with and support parents and families touched on some of these issues. Link to those transcripts here.
Beth O'Malley has a free newsletter for social workers and adoptive parents and talks about parenting, trauma, and navigating adoptive parenting and supporting our kids when there's loss, pain, ACEs, grief, complex situations and/or we parents have our own ACEs, challenges and issues.
The authors of Parenting with PTSD have a strong presence on Facebook and a private community of free support for parents. Emily Read Daniels has done some work with them and is an amazing facilitator who knows about systems change, org change, ACEs and helps teachers and parents get more regulated in order to support kids we teach, and/or live with and/or love.
I'm a socially awkward speaker but do talk about ACEs and why it mattered to me as a parent enough to become an activist. I touch on how adoptive parenting was what helped me what doesn't happen when trauma, neglect or chaos are happening.
This only scratches the surface! There's SO SO SO much in process, in creation, and already out there. I hope others chime in, add more and help. Please feel free to reach out or ask another question.
There are so many parents, organizations, and communities who have created materials for and with parents, including adoptive and foster parents, in particular. Please use the search feature to find more.
Cissy
Parenting with ACEs Community Manager
& Northeast Region Community Facilitator
Look at Bessell Van Der Kolk's programs for kids in Boston incorporating gross motor, synchronized activities (like theatre/dance, tennis, etc) -- he recommends play based, movement based stuff that assists self regulation, relaxation and 'synching up' with others -- all hugely beneficial to ACE exposed kids.
