Note: This excellent article by Kate Masters in the daily Frederick, MD newspaper led me to talk to two of the people interviewed in the story and learn just how much is going on right in my neck of the woods in Frederick County (where I live in Washington, DC is in the same Metro Statistical Area).
Anne Soule, Director of Family Support Services, Mental Health Association of Frederick County, and Lynn Davis, Director, Child Advocacy Center of Frederick County, have been working together over the last year and a half to bring ACEs science to diverse groups around the county, reaching out to educators, business leaders, parents, government officials, and have made presentations to about 1,500 people so far.
They are refining their message on a continuous basis but are finding that science of how abuse and neglect result in changes to the brain structure and function resonates universally. They have found that the phrase “It’s a brain thing” creates an opening for people to learn more. The presentations vary with the audience—nurses want to learn about the neurological impact of adversity while business people want data on the investment impact. Davis noted that in this relatively small county of about a quarter million people, $8 million was spent on substance abuse treatment alone. Soule believes that local data is key to building community support for taking action to reduce ACEs.
Frederick County, MD may be the next group on ACEs Connection. We would welcome that!
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Research shows traumatic childhood events have lasting impacts that go well into adulthood.
Before the late 1990s, substance abuse or divorce in the household weren’t considered long-term issues for children, said Anne Soule, the director of family support services for the Mental Health Association of Frederick County. But a study launched in 1998 introduced health experts to the concept of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) — dysfunction or abuse experienced at a young age that can have lasting influences on adult health.
To read the entire story by Kate Masters, click here.
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