Dr. Sandra Morgan and Dave Stachowiak discuss the effects adverse childhood experiences can have on a person’s entire life. They also share tools that can be used to measure the impact these experiences can have and also the factors that influence a person’s resilience.
Key Points

Childhood experiences are predictors of future health.
People self-medicate for their anxiety, depression, and fear in different ways.
Depending on a child’s ACE score, it can be predicted that they will have a life of up to 20 years shorter.
Drug addicted parents usually love their children, but their addictions steal away the relationship with their children.
Remember the connection between prevention of adverse childhood experiences and the reduction in the risk of being sexually trafficked.

Resources

ACE Quiz
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Resilience Questionaire
169: Dr. Jodi Quas: Communicating with Child Victims of Trauma
TEDMED talk: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime
Ensure Justice Conference Videos




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Transcript
Dave: [00:00:00] You're listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. This is episode number 172, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Building Resilience.

Production Credits: [00:00:10] Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential.

Dave: [00:00:30] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. My name is Dave Stachowiak.

Sandie: [00:00:35] And my name is Sandie Morgan.

Dave: [00:00:38] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Sandie, today we're going to take a look at a model that came out of a study from a number of years ago and you have an assessment under my nose as well that I have a feeling I might be taking here shortly.

Sandie: [00:00:59] Well, there was a study that began with the Center for Disease Control and Kaiser. And it's called the ACE Study, adverse childhood experience, and the concept was that we have childhood experiences that are predictors of our future health, including mental health, behavioral health, everything. And even how opportunity works in our life. And so, we want to look at this as a predictor of how we better serve the most vulnerable for becoming victims of human trafficking or how that experience actually informs how we support victims and intervene on their behalf.

Sandie: [00:01:48] And so the first thing we're going to do is look at the actual survey tool that's used, and it's called an ACE quiz. I've used it in my classes for years, especially when I first started teaching family violence because if you understand how that child, who is involved in a situation beyond their control, how that impacts their future then you can better create strategies for prevention and early intervention.

Sandie: [00:02:18] And so I've printed this quiz. It's only 10 questions, and you will have a link for you to download it. But Dave I want you to take this, while I read the questions so everybody understands the direction that we're going with this. You take the quiz and then we'll ask you what your score is.

Dave: [00:02:39] Ok I'm ready.

Sandie: [00:02:40] The first question, did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you, or act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt? So, you answer yes or you answer no. And if it's a yes, it's one point. The next question, did a parent or other adult in your household often or very often push, grab, slap,