Childhood trauma a societal issue, says Hanna speaker

Ace is a three-letter word usually indicating greatness or excellence.

But when those same letters stand as an acronym for “adverse childhood experiences,” it loses that luster – and can lead to mental, physical and social problems later in life.

It’s also the reason behaviorist Robert Anda is coming to Hanna Boys Center this week to shed light on how traumatic events in a child’s life threaten not only their health, but the public’s health in general.

Anda will present a public seminar titled “Building Self-Healing Communities” at Hanna Boys Center on Sept 22. Anda makes a fitting speaker at Hanna Boys Center, where many of its youth residents come from troubled homes and have experienced more than their share of childhood adversity. Anda was one of the principal investigators of the ACE Study, an ongoing investigation, launched in 1995, into the progress of 17,000 sufferers of childhood trauma, according to the CDC’s webpage on adverse childhood experiences.

There are 10 types of “adverse childhood experiences,” according to Anda, separated in three categories – abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. Physical, emotional and sexual abuses are three of the 10 ACEs, while emotional and physical neglect account for another two. Household dysfunction is a broader spectrum, with five different indicators of adversity: domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness, stress of separation or divorce and a family member being incarcerated. A child witnessing any of these qualifies as an adverse or traumatic experience.

Anda says that, of any child, “if you take the 10 ACEs, if there was one, there are usually multiple.” Each adverse experience on the list adds up to one point. For example, a child who has experienced five of the different ACEs has an ACE score of five.

The consequences of a child with many adverse experiences “affects public health,” Anda said. “The impact is really broad.”

Because adverse childhood experiences can have a ripple effect in broader society, Anda’s presentation isn’t merely for Hanna stakeholders – it’s for anyone interested in this growing field of study, or who believes it to be an increasingly important issue of life in the 21st century.

Hanna’s Executive Director Brian Farragher, a longtime associate of Anda, organized the event. Farragher has more than his share of experience working with children from difficult, traumatic situations and backgrounds.

“Most of the boys (at Hanna) have had significant experiences with trauma and adversity,” he said. “Seventy percent have an ACE score of four or more.”

Though it may not seem apparent at first, someone with a high ACE score can take a toll on public health. Various health and social problems, such as substance abuse and mental illness, are correlated to people with high ACE scores, Anda said.

Additionally, intergenerational transmission – passing it on from one generation to the next – occurs all too frequently. A person with a high ACE score, who has witnessed and experienced abuse, neglect, and various forms of household dysfunction, is likely to pass it on to their offspring, and to any other children they may be close to.

“This is an issue that affects kids and families all across the state,” Farragher said.

Though it is primarily a public health issue, addressing it goes far beyond the health care and medical systems – it encompasses the education system, the justice system, foster care centers, even mental health and substance abuse systems, Anda says.

Anda’s beliefs about the subject have changed significantly since he first started studying trauma and adversity – and he says places like Hanna Boys Center can play a key role.

“Now, I believe the education system is a really powerful system to promote public health. It’s a powerful pathway,” he said “Problem students are natural consequences of students exposed to adversity.”

When a child experiences adversity, their brain adapts to it as a survival skill, says Anda. “When adaptations come into contact with societal expectations, that is when problems occur.”

Anda said some schools around the country have started to change their policies – and schools that have reduced their suspension and expulsion rates start to see that their graduation rates also rise.

“If we want our school system to succeed, we have to change the system so that students can succeed in that system rather than trying to have them adapt to a system that doesn’t work in the first place,” he said.

The seminar at Hanna will have two parts: a public seminar and forum in the morning, and a private closed forum in the afternoon. The public portion of the event is from 9 a.m. to noon. A Q&A will follow Anda’s address.

Various community members have been invited for the afternoon portion, Farragher said.

“It’s a lot of community leaders, experts in the field of clinical psychology, Hanna supporters and board members, healthcare professionals, local not-for-profit leaders with a bent toward youth-focused causes,” said Rio Rossarne, public relations director at Hanna.

“We’re trying to get the community more aware, more engaged and more motivated to try and fix the problem,” Farragher said.

“I think that this type of understanding is the greatest opportunity of prevention in major public health in our times,” Anda says.

For more information about the ACE Study, visit acestudy.org/ and cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy.

To RSVP, contact lpetersen@hannacenter.org or call 933-2555

For more info about the event, contact rrossarne@hannacenter.org or call 933-2504.