Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) & Resilience Learning Modules

Photo by Jhon David on Unsplash

The ACEs Coalition of Guelph and Wellington County, in Ontario, have produced a set of free, self-directed Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) & Resilience Learning Modules for human service professionals interested in learning more about this area.

Many people experience stressful or traumatic events during their developmental years. Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) prior to the age of 18 can increase the risk of negative health behaviours and outcomes later in life. ACEs have been linked to higher levels of depression, substance use, and suicide attempts, as well as the top three leading causes of death in Canada: cancers, heart disease and stroke. Appropriate support can assist individuals to develop skills and resilience to mitigate the impacts of ACEs and improve health outcomes.

The ten categories of ACEs include:

·       Abuse

o   Physical Abuse

o   Emotional Abuse

o   Sexual Abuse

·       Neglect

o   Physical Neglect

o   Emotional Neglect

·       Household Dysfunction

o   Household member with a mental illness

o   Mother treated violently (intimate partner violence)

o   Parental absence due to separation or divorce

o   Incarcerated household member

o   Substance abuse by a household member

Experiences in childhood affect the structural development of the brain. Executive function can be damaged, leading to a variety of social and psychological issues. Whilst childhood is the best time to build the basis of resilience, research has shown that it can be strengthened at any time in life.

Three keys to building resilience are:

·       Learning about ACEs and becoming active in breaking the cycle

·       Developing and maintaining supportive, healthy relationships

·       Taking care of oneself by getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, and exercising regularly

While developed for use by human services professionals, the material in the ACEs & Resilience Modules is designed to be useful to educators, including ECE educators, volunteers working with children and families, or anyone who wishes to develop a better understanding of the relationship between early life experiences and long-term health. The modules can be completed in around 5-7 hours, and a certificate of recognition is available on completion of the modules.

The ACEs and Resilience course involves 5 modules:

·       Module 1: An Introduction to Adverse Childhood Experiences

·       Module 2: The Impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences

·       Module 3: Resilience

·       Module 4: Taking Action to Prevent and Reduce the Effects of ACEs and Build Resilience

·       Module 5: ACEs and Resilience Practice Case

The ACEs website offers the following suggestions specifically for parents in building resilience in their children:

·       Spend quality time together

·       Get to know their friends

·       Give them opportunities to try new things

·       Ask for their help to prepare food to share

·       Assign them age-appropriate chores

·       Model calming exercises like art, reading, meditation, and listening to music

·       Build your own resilience through supportive relationships, sleep, healthy food, and regular exercise