Introduction Video (41 Seconds)

Transcript

Stress

What comes to mind when you hear the word "stress"?

Stress is a normal reaction to life situations, such as a busy schedule or changes to your routine. It is a natural reaction to a challenge or a demand. Some stress can be positive, like starting a new job, the first day of school or overcoming a small challenge that helps you grow.

However, stressors can also be harmful and can negatively impact the body if experienced for long periods.

There are three main types of stress: positive, tolerable and toxic stress.

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Toxic stress can cause irritability, fatigue, inability to concentrate, anger, sadness, headaches and even lowered immune system. Over time this can also lead to issues related to anxiety and depression.

Traumatic experiences are likely to contribute to toxic stress. Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs) are one of many types of traumatic experiences that can impact a young mind. This course defines trauma and ACEs in the upcoming sections.

What are ACES? Introduction to ACEs (2:58 minutes)

Transcript

Adverse
Childhood
Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are situations or events that threaten a child's physical or psychological well-being. For example:

experiencing violence, abuse or neglect
witnessing violence in the home or community
having a family member attempt or die by suicide

Also included are aspects of the child's environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability and bonding, such as growing up in a household with:

substance misuse
mental health problems
instability due to parental separation or household members being in jail or prison

ACEs may lead to chronic health problems, mental illness and substance misuse in adulthood. ACEs can also negatively impact education and job opportunities. However, ACEs can be prevented. We will cover some ways educators can help mitigate ACEs' effects in our school environment later on in this course.

Toxic stress can occur when a child experiences adversity for long periods, which is extreme and severe. ACEs can over-activate a child's stress response, further damaging their development and reactions to situations.

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The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the most extensive investigations of childhood abuse and neglect and household challenges and later-life health and well-being.

The original ACE Study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente from 1995 to 1997 with two data collection waves. Over 17,000 Health Maintenance Organization members from Southern California receiving physical exams completed confidential surveys regarding their childhood experiences and current health status and behaviors.

Another way to think about ACEs is by categories: Abuse, Neglect and Household Dysfunction.

The ACEs Questionnaire & Score

The ACEs Questionnaire is composed of 10 questions.

The ACE score is the total number of ACEs that each participant reported

For example, experiencing physical neglect would be an ACE score of one; if the child also witnesses a parent treated violently, the ACE score would be two.

The higher the score, the higher the risk for later health problems
Given exposure to one category, there is an 80% likelihood of exposure to another

If you feel that you or a child you are working with have experienced trauma, please seek professional assistance to be sure to receive the support you need.

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ACEs are common. Nearly 61% of people surveyed across 25 states reported having at least a score of 1. About 1 in 6 people identified as having four or more ACEs.

For more information visit the infographic linked here.

One of the possible outcomes of experiencing ACEs or exposure to adversity is trauma.

Trauma happens when a person perceives an event or set of circumstances as extremely frightening, harmful, or threatening physically, emotionally or both. Certain adverse childhood experiences are especially likely to cause trauma. Trauma is also related to impacts on the developing brain.

It’s normal to experience traumatic stress following a disturbing event, whether it’s the coronavirus pandemic, a traffic accident, plane crash, violent crime, terrorist attack or a natural disaster like an earthquake, hurricane or flood. Round-the-clock news and social media coverage means that we’re all bombarded with images almost the instant they occur anywhere in the world. Repeated exposure can overwhelm your nervous system and create traumatic stress just as if you experienced the event firsthand.

How common is trauma?
More than two-thirds of children report at least one traumatic event by age 16.

Our Environment Plays a Role

In addition to adverse experiences, trauma and toxic stress, other factors beyond our control can also impact our overall well-being.

Social determinants of health are the conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and age, affecting a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. The social factors include, but are not limited to, the built environment, access to health care, economic insecurity and even educational attainment. Each of these factors contributes to our overall health.

Individuals that live in poverty or neighborhoods of lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk of experiencing toxic stress. Direct link to thinglink above

How does it show up in education? - Video (1:16 minutes)

Transcript

Trauma changes the architecture of a developing child's brain and physiology. These changes impair academic efforts. They affect children's memory systems, their ability to think, organize multiple priorities (executive function)—in other words, their ability to learn, particularly literacy skills. Furthermore, changes in a child's neurobiology often result in a student having difficulty regulating his/her emotions and reading social cues, compromising their ability to pay attention, follow directions, work with teachers and make friends with other students. 3 ACEs are often the root cause of severe learning disabilities, health problems, social challenges and behavioral problems that impact a child's ability to learn.

For educators, students who have experienced multiple adversities (20%-50% of all students) can be more challenging to engage consistently, require additional support, and often need more attention, thus reducing instructional time for other students. With many students and their families experiencing adversity, schools may face an uphill challenge in addressing them without local partner services and support from the broader community and other systems. Caring relationships and safe and supportive environments help prevent and mitigate the consequences of ACEs.

PAUSE to Process:

OPTIONAL - Journaling Activity: After discussing the different types of stress, ACEs, and trauma, take a moment to reflect on what you learned. The journal activity encourages the application of the concepts and further self-reflection.

You can print this file or use your own journal/paper.

Questions:

Describe a time in which you felt stressed.
What did you need during that time?
Who was there for you?

UP Next -The impacts of Brain Development, Behavior, and Health