Last month I had the privilege of being a speaker at the Atlantic Health Systems Conference "Empowering Adaptable Communities." I was asked to give a 10 minute "TED-like" talk about ACEs. Leading up to the event I was anxious and...
On November 13, 2014 the ACEs Connection community managers held a casual ACEs Meet-Up to discuss with interested individuals: “ How do we build a trauma-informed city? “ The group of participants had a discussion around...
The death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen fatally shot by police in Ferguson, Mo., has brought national attention to the serious and sometimes deadly interactions that youth of color often have with the police. However, racial...
Schools should have mood detectors instead of metal detectors, George Carter once observed. The New Orleans student, who turned 15 this year, was a founding member of Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools. Organized in 2006 in the wake of Hurricane...
Since 2012, University of Iowa photography student Zora Murff, has worked as a “tracker” for a program that provides low-risk juveniles alternatives to incarceration. He coordinates transportation to therapy and counseling sessions,...
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice jointly announced today guidance on education of confined or incarcerated youths with the aim of helping states and localities to improve outcomes when juveniles are released and to reduce the...
ABSTRACT Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as child abuse and neglect impact a child's socioemotional development. Drawing from the methods employed in the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE; Felitti et al., 1998) Study, the...
Abstract Early insults during critical periods of brain development, both prenatal and postnatal, can result in epigenetic changes that may impact health and behavioral outcomes over the life span and into future generations. There is ample evidence...
ABSTRACT A supportive early environment can strengthen the developing individual and build the foundation for a lifelong health. By contrast, severe stress can alter brain architecture and lead to increased susceptibility for psychopathology. There is...
“Doc, I just can’t keep track of my calories! Whenever I start recording it, I eat more.” I blinked. Surely not. “Let me see your record.” She grimaced but still passed over her smart phone. I scrolled and scrolled...
It's one of the worst fears we have for our parents or for ourselves: that we, or they, will end up in a nursing home, drugged into a stupor. And that fear is not entirely unreasonable. Almost 300,000 nursing home residents are currently...
One of my ongoing concerns as a legislator has been the health of children and families. Most recently, as a member of the Legislative Council Steering Committee for Supporting Healthy Early Brain Development, I've been working on policies that...
Despite their ubiquity in the media, gentrifying neighborhoods that evolve over time from low-income to well-off are quite rare. It is far, far more common that once-poor neighborhoods stay that way over time — or, worse, that they grow poorer....
America’s suburbs, now as diverse as large central cities were 30 years ago, are repeating the cycle of racial segregation and inequality that have haunted major cities for decades. Ferguson, Missouri, a stark example of this suburban...
It has been a long-standing assumption that physical activity positively impacts children and their development. Physically, youth are at a lower risk for developing Type II Diabetes as well as becoming obese. Emotionally, the endorphins...