How Do ACE's Impact a Child's Performance in School and How Can Educators Help?

ACE Categories (Abuse, Neglect, Household Dysfunction)

 What are ACEs? The definition of ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences which are grouped into 3 categories of abuse (emotional, physical, sexual), household challenges (mother treated violently, substance abuse, mental illness, divorce, incarceration), and neglect (emotional, physcial). The total of 10 subgroupings accounts for the cumulative ACE score of 0-10. Respondents that take the ACE test are 18 years and younger due to the significant effects of these factors in their formational, childhood years. These traumatic experiences have been researched and results have found serious
developmental effects in children. The prevalence of ACEs, according to research at the University of Tennessee Educational Psychology Department, states that 67% of the population has an ACE score of 1, and 12.5% of the population has an ACE score of 4 or more. This means that a few students in each classroom across America have an ACE score of 4 or higher. Given these facts, we must ask how this is impacting our students in the classroom. A Washington State research study reported findings that "As ACE exposure increased, students were more likely to have poor school attendance, behavioral issues, and failure to meet grade-level standards." This checks out since these children's brains have been altered or affected by traumatic experiences. A child that has experienced multiple ACE categories will be more likely to have an altered nucleus accumbance center of their brain which regulates their pleasure/reward center - linked with substance abuse, their amygdala which regulates their fear center of the brain, and inhibits their prefrontal cortex of the brain that controls executive function and impulse control, a primary part of the brain for learning. Results from the Washington State research study state that, "... the relationship between ACE and academic failure in elementary school children - as known ACE increase, the risk of a broad range of school-related problems also increases." 

If this is the case, how can we help as educators? 

As educators, (and in my future classroom) we should use trauma-informed practices and trauma-informed care interventions to develop positive relationships with our students to aid in self-regulation, resilience, and how they respond to future adversities. We never know what students our going through and it is crucial to support them emotionally and mentally while sympathizing with their situations. We should also encourage family involvement in a student's academic life and go on home visits and meet everyone where they are at. It is also important for me to recognize behavior that may infer that a child is having a rough time - withdrawing, acting out, crying, or not acting themselves. I want to ensure that my classroom is a safe learning space where actions of my own and the students will not re-introduce them or trigger a response from trauma that they are/have experiening/ed.