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If your child has a traumatic history, what can you do to help them cope during this very uncertain and chaotic time?

In this episode, Matt discusses the trauma of divorce with Dr. Angela Cusimano. On the list of Adverse Childhood Experience, Divorce is a unique type of family disruption. Dr. Cusimano shares her expertise in working with divorce survivors. https://connectingparadigms.org/blog/podcast/interview-with-dr-angela-cusimano-trauma-of-divorce/ Angela Cusimano is a psychologist and personal coach with decades of experience working with kids, families, and trauma survivors. She is a childhood divorce...

Cissy's note: Thanks to @Elizabeth Perry for flagging me and letting me know about this important YouTube video posted on April 6th via the ACE Interface Laura Porter channel which furthers this important discussion about the uses/misuses of ACEs scores. This topic is written about from a personal perspective by @Sirena Wheeler here, yesterday, on ACEs Connection a piece entitled Erasing My ACEs which @Laura Porter commented upon. I have found tremendous benefit from learning about ACEs...

Announcing 30% COVID-19 Hardship Discount on All Online ARTIC Purchases Despite the COVID-19 crisis, school systems, human service agencies, behavioral health programs, medical institutions, foster care agencies, juvenile justice programs, and many others are working to sustain trauma-informed care - now more than ever. At the same time, organizations are experiencing unexpected and unprecedented financial challenges. In response, the Traumatic Stress Institute is offering relief to...

It’s important to remember: There is no intrinsic difference between the psychological resilience of African Americans and white Americans. We unfortunately experience more stressors. Socioeconomic pressures, racism and microaggressions in the workplace are significant stressors that have been shown to increase the risk of mental illness in African Americans.

By Joyce Lee, The Lancet, April 14, 2020 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic—and the social distancing measures that many countries have implemented—have caused disruptions to daily routines. As of April 8, 2020, schools have been suspended nationwide in 188 countries, according to UNESCO . Over 90% of enrolled learners (1·5 billion young people) worldwide are now out of education. The UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay warned that “the global scale and speed of the current...

By Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE, April 17, 2020 With social distancing in full effect due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, parents are wondering if and when it’s OK to take their kids to the doctor, whether for a routine appointment or if their child is sick. While it’s important that families stay home when they can, health experts say parents should not skip routine appointments, especially those that involve vaccinations. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that we keep...

By Jeremy Loudenback and John Kelly, The Chronicle of Social Change, April 16, 2020 This week was supposed to be a triumphant one for a Northern California mother of two, a 39-year-old home health aide. Soon after a long-scheduled court date at the Sonoma County Hall of Justice this week, she imagined she would soon be able to gather her 1-year-old daughter in her arms at last and end what has been the most terrifying experience of her life: the seven months her toddler has spent in foster...

Click on the pdf link for the full child-friendly article.

We at Penn State have launched a world-wide survey, now translated into 20 languages to study the effective (vs ineffective) ways of communicating the the COVID pandemic related messages. This survey has been already completed by over 10,000 people around the globe since we launched it few days ago. Our humble goal is to reach 1 million responders by the end of April / early May.

Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs science. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Nelson CA 3rd, Gabard-Durnam LJ. Early Adversity and Critical Periods: Neurodevelopmental Consequences of Violating the Expectable Environment. Trends...

On a recent day in early March, Laura Lopez met a former patient of hers in the waiting room of Highland Hospital’s pediatric clinic in Oakland, CA. The patient had forgotten her Medi-Cal card and called Lopez asking for help. But in the brief conversation, Lopez, a family specialist with the DULCE program, learned about some dire changes in the patient’s life. Laura Lopez “Without me even asking, she shared with me that she had separated from her partner, that she needs to apply for food...