How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime "The science is clear, early adversity dramatically affects health across a lifetime...The single most important thing we need today is the courage to look this problem in the face and say this is real and this is all of us." Dr. Nadine Burke Harris - TEDMED 2014 A Deep Shared Experience:
Violence is a Preventable Brain Disorder We literally have the ability to change the world we live in by addressing our core belief systems. This logic can be applied to our deeply held beliefs that human-beings are wired for violence, which the science of epigenetics refutes completely. Human behavior is much more a product of our environment and conditioning than it is dictated by genes. This points directly to child-rearing practices, and the ways that it affects the developing brain.
Half of All Kids Experiece Traumatic Events included questions about nine adverse childhood experiences as reported by parents: extreme economic hardship, parental divorce/separation, lived with someone with a drug or alcohol problem, witness or victim of neighborhood violence, lived with someone who was mentally ill or suicidal, witnessed domestic violence, parent served time in jail, treated or judged unfairly due to race/ethnicity, and the death of a parent
How Childhood Trauma Could Be Mistaken for ADHD These children lived in households and neighborhoods where violence and relentless stress prevailed. Their parents found them hard to manage and teachers described them as disruptive or inattentive. Brown knew these behaviors as classic symptoms of ADHD, a brain disorder characterized by impulsivity, hyperactivity, and an inability to focus.
When Brown looked closely, though, she saw something else: trauma. Hyper-vigilance and dissociation, for example, could be mistaken for inattention. Impulsivity might be brought on by a stress response in overdrive.
Sales of ADHD Meds Are Skyrocketing
Translating the Science of Childhood Stress Into Youth Service Practice Young people in this country are exposed to violence or traumatic experiences at alarming levels.
A 2011 survey funded by the U.S. Department of Justice (which formed the Defending Childhood Initiative) found that most American children have been exposed to violence in their homes, communities or schools.
The survey showed that more than 60 percent of children between birth and age 17 had been exposed to violence in the previous year, either directly or indirectly — having witnessed a violent act, learned about a violent act against a family member or close friend, or experienced a threat against their home or school.
Nutrient Power by William J. Walsh, PhD Natural Healing for ADHD, Autism, Behavior Disorders, Depression, Schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's
The American Family in Black and White: A Post-Racial Strategy for Improving Skills to Promote Equality Skill gaps emerge early before children enter school. Families are major producers of those skills. Inequality in performance in school is strongly linked to inequality in family environments. Schools do little to reduce or enlarge the gaps in skills that are present when children enter school. Parenting matters, and the true measure of child advantage and disadvantage is the quality of parenting received. A growing fraction of American children across all race and ethnic groups is being raised in dysfunctional families. Investment in the early lives of children in disadvantaged families will help close achievement gaps.
Replies
True Colors is a great video! I'd like to see the brightest minds on Earth pool their recommendations for videos (music-based, documenaries,movies - the whole f'n works! Compile a FULL-SPECTRUM Mega List/DataBase of such ON every theme that is of most urgent priority for re-educating Human&womity, locally-globally, and ASAP. The most competent spiritual teachers, psychologists, psychiatrists, professors, classroom educators, councellors, and otherwise directly experienced educators in ANY & EVERY field of EVERY SCIENCE and facet of Life Could and Would... I Hope... Collaborate to recommend a wide array of recommended viewing sequences... curriculums if you will... designed to accomodate a wide range of interested parties. It would be great if truly qualified people - which does NOT necessarily mean "who also have impressive academic credentials... "just"... a genuinely impressive personal track record of actual verifiable experience & credible witnesses, such as personal beneficiaries of such a one's abilities in the field. Imagine to, a related questionaire that interested parties could fill out... so that their responses could be used to assess a personally "tweaked" curriculum of these educational videos... to help that individual tune in as quickly, deeply, usefully, beneficially, etc as possible! THIS IS VERY DOABLE. What WE COLLECTIVELY POOL RIGHT HERE IN THE 12 SECTORS OF THE COSMIC WHEEL, will probably make a great start on such a database "curriculum prepper."©&®... just kiddin with that f'n®&©crap... I despise that "its mine" approach to sharing info... for a price $$$. [Don't give me any of that New Age "entrepreneur" BS... I think WE should dismantle ALL international laws that enable, justify, advocate, or otherwise perpetuate such self-serving tactics re sharing our COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE! SO, I'm VERY SERIOUS with my recommendations that WE ALL DO WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE THOSE EDUCATIONAL DB & related QUESTIONAIRE ideas a REALITY. Thanks again for contributing that great Cyndi Lauper video to this "potential" Mega Educational DB".
Trauma Informed Care Project
The Raising of America: An Action Organization
Raising of America Resource Page
Center for Youth Wellness
Overview
The Center for Youth Wellness is part of a national effort to revolutionize pediatric medicine and transform the way society responds to kids exposed to significant adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress.
Led by founder and CEO Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, we were created to respond to an urgent public health issue: early adversity harms the developing brains and bodies of children.
In partnership with Bayview Child Health Center, we screen every young person we see for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that we know can lead to toxic stress and lifelong problems with health, wellness and learning. We heal children’s brains and bodies by piloting treatments for toxic stress and sharing our findings nationally. We prevent toxic stress by raising awareness among those who can make a difference: from parents and pediatricians to policy makers.
Our Mission
Our mission is to improve the health of children and adolescents exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences.
ACESTooHigh is a news site that reports on research about adverse childhood experiences, including developments in epidemiology, neurobiology, and the biomedical and epigenetic consequences of toxic stress. We also cover how people, organizations, agencies and communities are implementing practices based on the research. This includes developments in education, juvenile justice, criminal justice, public health, medicine, mental health, social services, and cities, counties and states.
Children Can Thrive: A New Vision for California
Last year, the Center for Youth Wellness hosted “Children Can Thrive,” the first statewide summit on childhood adversity in California. We know that unaddressed exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is a public health crisis with serious consequences. The good news is that in California, the fight against childhood adversity has become a movement—one that engages stakeholders and partners from an array of sectors in finding solutions to this issue.
That’s why we are very pleased to announce the release of “Children Can Thrive: A Vision for California’s Response to Adverse... a policy report by the Center for Youth Wellness that includes the recommendations and perspectives of hundreds of experts.
Court Appointed Special Advocates
Mission: National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, together with its state and local members, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so that every abused and neglected child in the United States can be safe, has a permanent home and the opportunity to thrive. Read more about us.
Who Can Be a Volunteer?
You do not have to be a lawyer or social worker to be a volunteer. We welcome people from all walks of life. We are simply looking for people who care about children and have common sense. As a volunteer, you will be thoroughly trained and well supported by professional staff to help you through each case.
You must pass a background check, participate in a 30-hour pre-service training course and agree to stay with a case until it is closed (a year and a half on average). Read more about the requirements and role of being a CASA volunteer.
Interested in helping children but not ready to commit to becoming a volunteer advocate? Learn about other volunteer opportunities.
America Earns C- on Kids
Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. By transforming children's lives now, we change the course of their future and ours. Learn more about how you can support our future
"Save The Children" Action Network Impact
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next