What are Adverse Childhood Experiences?

The impact of early adversity and unresolved trauma is becoming one of the greatest public health concerns of our time (Van Der Kolk 2014; Harris 2014).  Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are defined as chronic (persistent), unpredictable and stress inducing situations on children with effects that can last a lifetime.  The experiences become more injurious when there is no buffering adult present to support the child through the adversity. In the earliest part of a child’s development, lived experiences can have a lasting impact on brain development and cognitive development, which in turn impacts learning ability. Mental health, negative behavioural expressions, physiological illness are also impacted to become indications of all future learning, problems solving and emotional regulation ability and overall general well-being in life.

Children who become impacted negatively from ACEs perform poorly in school and with education in general. In life they have difficulty progressing in occupations or in employment.  They can exhibit unacceptable and disruptive behaviours in the classroom, when they actually do come to school. In general truancy can be high. Tusla, found that 60,000 children in 2019 missed school every day. Sometimes the impact of ACEs can look like the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), demonstrating an inability to take instruction or learn new skills, these children might seem to have a lack inhibitions and be impulsive. Children may also exhibit deficiency when it comes to planning skills, organisation skills, attention and concentration aptitudes. Sometimes noted is limited mastery skills, or poor ability to stay on task and therefore experience low goal attainment.