What info do people put about ACEs on their websites?

Thanks for this great question. I do not have a suggestion, but am interested in what others have to share.

Russell, I'm in the camp that is very cautious about this topic. At ChildWise Institute we do a lot of ACE Trainings through our ACE Interface Master Trainer Program. We have 18 trainers across our entire state of Montana and have trained about 7,000 people in the last year and a half. We use the ACE Survey in our presentations because the training has the brain science of toxic stress, the ACE Study, and resilience strategies. We never let people walk away with the Survey, or hand it out for distribution... we always collect them and tell people not to put their names on the sheets. ChildWise Institute is collecting data on ACE scores in Montana. Through a movement that ChildWise started in 2013 called Elevate Montana, we do have the 10-question ACE Survey on our website (www.WhatsYourACEscore.com) but also with context, the appropriate "cautions", and the Resilience Survey. I advocate that the ACE Survey should never be handed out or put on any website without proper context. And to me, any app that is just the 10-question survey for people to get their ACE score without proper context is irresponsible.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

On ACEsTooHigh.com, the companion news site to ACEsConnection.com, there's a section, Got Your ACE Score?, which explains the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study to provide context, has the 10-question survey, and also has a resilience survey so that people understand what resilience factors they might have had as children that helped them through the adverse experiences.

What's been wonderful is that, in a completely unanticipated response, people have read this section, taken both surveys, and left comments that include their ACE and resilience scores, with a short summary of their lives or what they're dealing with. Many say that they think this explains their lives, and that they're grateful for the knowledge. There are more than 1,100 comments to date, with many people checking back in and offering encouragement to people who are obviously suffering. 

thanks, Jane. That is indeed an interesting observation. Whereas many would recommend "the funnel technique" (starting off with a general question, and narrowing it down more and more) for asking about "sensitive experiences" nothing could be more "confrontative" than the ACEs questionnaire itself -- indeed one could ask whether or not some questions need to be even more specific. Different rules clearly apply to face-to-face (funnel technique) and computerised (specific Qs) situations. Indeed, (dredging things up from some ancient stores in my brain), this has been noted in the past I seem to recall, so putting things in context, providing a way to make sense of things, and bringing to mind positive aspects of one's previously difficult life (Resilience Q) can be a very positive experience -- Panagioti DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2012.06.005 -- so, thanks, Jane, I think we're coming towards a clearer statement of what and how to present "sensitive" information.

Todd Garrison posted:

Russell, I'm in the camp that is very cautious about this topic. At ChildWise Institute we do a lot of ACE Trainings through our ACE Interface Master Trainer Program. We have 18 trainers across our entire state of Montana and have trained about 7,000 people in the last year and a half. We use the ACE Survey in our presentations because the training has the brain science of toxic stress, the ACE Study, and resilience strategies. We never let people walk away with the Survey, or hand it out for distribution... we always collect them and tell people not to put their names on the sheets. ChildWise Institute is collecting data on ACE scores in Montana. Through a movement that ChildWise started in 2013 called Elevate Montana, we do have the 10-question ACE Survey on our website (www.WhatsYourACEscore.com) but also with context, the appropriate "cautions", and the Resilience Survey. I advocate that the ACE Survey should never be handed out or put on any website without proper context. And to me, any app that is just the 10-question survey for people to get their ACE score without proper context is irresponsible.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Thanks for the reply, Todd. Sorry for getting to yours so late, but I do think my reply to Jane's comment also applies to your well-made points: context, understanding, and where to go if these are issues for you.