Question
What are ACEs?
Answer
ACEs is an acronym for adverse childhood experiences. Let me give you some examples of ACEs.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation describes ACEs as having three main components: abuse, neglect, and household dysfunctions.
Under the category of abuse, there is physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.
Neglect can be physical and/or emotional.
Household dysfunctions include: mental illness, an incarcerated relative, a mother treated violently, substance abuse,and divorce.
These are three major components of ACE's, and of course, there are even more. Even just one of these areas, like mental illness, for example, is multi-layered. There's so much embedded in each of these that we certainly have to take the time to understand them, especially as it relates to the children we serve as social workers.
In my research, I came across this idea from Walker and Walsh: "If a child endures two or more ACEs,
they have to have some type of support. They have to have some type of resource or reference of point to help them be successful in life."
Many of us may have been through one, two, or more of these experiences and grew up in an era where going to therapy or getting help really wasn't a thing, even though now we understand how important it is.
Although we may have grown up without that support, it’s clear from the research that we need to address these issues that may have been normalized in our childhoods.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the webinar, Nuturing Beyond Bars, presented by Quniana Futrell, EdS.
