Adverse Childhood Experiences - Lisa Bartleton
Adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) are defined as children experiencing a particular kind of abuse or traumatic experience. These can often be categorised as physical, sexual or emotional abuse or may be related to other trauma experienced by children growing up in a household in which there may be alcohol or drug abuse. There could also be illness, some kind of criminal activity, domestic violence or parental separation. Each one of these experiences that a child may encounter within their life is counted as a single ACE and some children will encounter multiple ACEs. Some children can experience difficult times at home, sometimes positive attachment bonds of love and care are missing and this can impact on them growing up happy and healthy. Sometimes this results in potentially traumatic events that can have negative and lasting effects on both the health and the well-being of the child (Felitti et al., 1998). Research has found a significant link between the number of ACEs a person experienced and them experiencing negative outcomes in adulthood, these include poor physical and mental health, substance abuse, and participating in risky behaviours ( www.childwelfare.gov.uk).
It is known that one or more incidents of ACE’s can lead to the child experiencing high levels of stress, this can result in the child experiencing a disruption or in balance in their physiological response to stress. Resulting in non-threatening experiences can be interpreted as threatening, such as an unexpected sound or touch. Therefore, many of these children experience stress, even when there’s no apparent reason for them to be stressed. (van Oirs, 2020). Low levels of stress are categorised as normal and help children to develop resilience to be able to cope with difficult situations they may encounter as they are growing up. However too much stress can result in chemical imbalances within their body including, a sense of heightened awareness and releases of adrenalin. A child who suffers with stress as a result of an ACE within their lives will have a different balance of chemical levels within their body compared to a child who only experiences the occasional stressful incident. High levels of stress can be toxic in childhood and can have a detrimental impact on brain development. Within the early years there are critical windows for healthy brain development that is dependant on positive interactions and experiences. Therefore, when this development is altered due to early traumatic experiences, these important neurological changes can result in emotional, social, or cognitive impairments. This may affect the child’s learning ability and social skills, and it can result in long-term health problems (Perry & Pollard, 1998; Weiss & Wagner, 1998 in Van Oirs 2020).
In order to counteract these negative experiences children must be given security, love and positive interactions. The environment must be enabling to provide the emotional security that a child needs for healthy development. As part of Early Years practice, the themes of positive interaction and relationships are embedded throughout the EYFS framework (DFE, 2017). In particular, the key person approach supports a way of working in nurseries in which the whole focus and organisation is aimed at enabling and supporting close attachments between individual children and individual nursery staff (Elfer et al, 2003). There is an abundance of research which shows that support from a reliable adult in the direct environment of the child can act as a buffering protection from difficulties they may face (Shonkoff, et al., 2012). Some children do not have that constant stable relationship with an adult within their home as it can be a place of instability. Therefore, supportive adults in their nursery or school, become even more crucial (Jenkin, 2020).
There are a number of ways that the Early Years practitioner can support children to cope with any difficult emotions that they may experience. This can be facilitated through many different methods and approaches. Through the use of puppets, stories and art work children can be supported to identify their emotions which will allow them to talk about their feelings and express them in a developmentally appropriate way. Through art children might feel more relaxed and comfortable when discussing stressful topics. Children may also feel more at ease talking to a puppet rather than directly to an adult as the adult may hinder their responses. These different approaches to facilitate communication can provide children with the tools to begin to work through their difficulties by the use of problem solving. To be able to do this children need to feel secure in their relationship with their key person and empowered enough to know that they have a voice and will be listened to. If a child can have at least one available adult who is ‘on their side’, then they can often weather the storm much better. Working with children is always an important job, but for those children who have four or more ACEs, the experiences they encounter within their early years setting can make the difference between a future of happiness and a future of chaos. (Jenkin, 2020). It is common early years practice that the development of social skills and the skills required to build friendships is nurtured and developed. These skills are vital for children experiencing ACE’s as these friendships provide a child with someone to go to, their own support network. As they grow and become more independent, they can seek out time away from their difficulties and the home; through leisure activities with friends. Children who have many interests outside of the home, can lessen the consequences of their ACEs. It’s not only that time spent away from the source of pain and fear lessens the occurrence, but the mind being occupied with pleasurable things can allow the brain respite from the adrenaline and negativity they may experience (Jenkin, 2020).
In order to be able to cope when times are difficult and to be able to recognise their own need for self-care, rest and opportunities for reflection children require resilience. This provides them with an ability to bounce back when things don’t go too well and an ability to find the positive in difficult situations and be able to move forward and try again. Resilience often allows us to learn from our mistakes. Children can be supported to build resilience in many ways, allow children to make mistakes through the use of trial and error, provide opportunities for open ended play where there is no end product to produce, this supports their learning as they can explore freely and also provides children with the opportunity to make decisions for themselves. Ensure good routines so they are able to predict what is happening next and prepare themselves to deal with change. Praise and reward children, so that their successes and moments that they do well are acknowledged and celebrated, this provokes feelings of accomplishment. Practitioners can model healthy social behavior by providing children with opportunities to develop their social skills through collaborative play, team work and turn taking.
Above all reliable and supportive relationships are paramount in children experiencing difficulties, the positive relationships that children develop within the early years setting are crucial to developing a positive well-being and counteracting the effects of them suffering adverse childhood experiences.
My name is Lisa and I have worked in Early Years for the past 29 years in various roles, including working as an Early Years improvement Officer providing support and challenge through the Early Years Outcome Duty, visiting private, voluntary and independent Early Years settings. This included providing advice on pedagogy, policies and procedures, recruitment and EYFS welfare requirements. I have taught the subjects of Health and Social Care and Early Years in secondary provision and am currently teaching in an FE college. I hold a BA Honours in early childhood studies an MA in Education and Qualified Teacher Status in learning and skills.
References
Adverse childhood experiences {online} Available at:https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/resources/ace/ Accessed June 2020
Department for Education (DFE), (2017) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Nottingham: DFE publications.
Felitti, V.J., Anda, R.F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D.F., Spitz, A.M., Edwards, V., & Koss, M. P. (1998) Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American journal of preventive medicine, 14, 245-258.
Jenkin, L. (2020) Your actions could make the difference for a child between a future of happiness and a future of chaos {online} Available at:https://www.teachearlyyears.com/a-unique-child/view/how-to-support-children-with-aces-in-early-years-settings Accessed June 2020
Shonkoff, J. P., Garner, A. S., Siegel, B. S., Dobbins, M. I., Earls, M. F., McGuinn, L., .Wood, D. L. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129, e232-e246.
Van Oirschot, M (2020) {online} Adverse childhood experiences and its lifelong consequences. Available at: https://www.in-mind.org/blog/post/adverse-childhood-experiences-and-its-lifelong-consequences?gclid=Cj0KCQjwz4z3BRCgARIsAES_OVe3x__7iEWw56Z-gNV71d0QQMuRNSDNTVmJIBWNMdX8X57QBAabHtcaAohoEALw_wcB Accessed June 2020