1. Adverse Childhood Experiences - ACEs
Steph Gray-Blest - Assistant Head of School/SENDco
Djanogly Strelley Academy
Paul Martin - Operational Manager FIP & Priority Families
Nottingham City Council

2. Raising an awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences - ACEs
ACEs – Session aims
Raising an awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences - ACEs
Introduction to how relational trauma impacts upon behaviour

3. ACEs – Reference material
Professor Vincent Felittico (San Diago USA) 1998
(17,000 participants)
Blackburn with Darwen
(1,500 participants)
Professor Mark Bellis (Public Health Wales) 2015
(2028 participants)
Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Luton Research (Liverpool John Moores University) 2016
(5,454 participants)

4. Brain Development – the critical years
First 3 years - baby’s brain grows from 25% to 80% of adult size

5. Brain Development – the critical years
700 Synapses formed per second in early years
Development
continues in
childhood
learning
empathy,
trust and
community
Newborn
1 Month
6 Months
2 Years

6. ACEs – Toxic Stress Chronic Stress from ACEs:-
Violence – over-develop ‘life-preserving’ brain
NEUTRAL CUES LOOK THREATENING
School – anxious, disengaged, poor learners

7. HOUSEHOLD DYSFUNCTION
ACEs – What are they?
ABUSEE
NEGLECTE
HOUSEHOLD DYSFUNCTION
PHYSICAL
PHYSICAL
MENTAL ILLNESS
INCARCERATION
EMOTIONAL
DOMESTIC
ABUSE
DRUG OR
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
EMOTIONAL
PARENTAL SEPARATION
SEXUAL
Experiences of children up to the age of 18 years
Dose effect!

8. ACEs – Impact over a lifespan

9. ACEs – Prevalence
Number of adults in Wales reporting experienced an ACE during childhood

10. ACEs – Population prevalence

11. ACEs – Questionnaire Exercise
All the questions are prefixed with:-
“While you were growing up and before you reached your 18th birthday………..”

12. ACEs – What is the impact of ACEs

13. ACEs – Children having children
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0 1
2-3 4+
ACE Count

14. ACEs – Violence towards others
England & Wales data

15. Preventing ACES

16. ACEs – Adult mental well-being
Using a WEMWEBS score

17. ACEs – Adult mental well-being

18. ACEs – Children having children
41%
21%

19. ACEs – Children having children
10 YEARS
10 YEARS

20. ACEs – Children having children

21. 4+ACEs….it’s not all over!
1. Trusted Adult
2. Trauma informed Services

22. Behaviour has meaning………..
“It makes a great deal more sense, of much of the seemingly unreasonable behaviour or outrageous behaviour of many children if one bears in mind that they are often doing to others what they experience as being done to them, both externally and internally” (Boston 1983)

23. FACE your Ace

24. ACEs