Frequently Asked Questions

ACEs are Adverse Childhood Experiences. Our ACE history counts experiences of abuse, neglect and household challenges that happened to us as children. But that number does not define us. It is simply an entry point to our own personal story.

Yes.  In fact, traumatic childhood experiences are surprisingly common. Two-thirds of us have lived through at least one. Taking our ACE history can be a powerful first step to understanding our stories, healing ourselves, and helping the children in our lives. Our early childhood experiences can affect our health and well-being as adults.

Also, you might be interested in learning that the higher our ACEs number, the greater the chance we will we experience the harmful effects. ACEs are strongly associated with 9 out of the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. and over 40 common health conditions.

Adverse Childhood Experiences, our ACE history, counts experiences of abuse, neglect and household challenges that happened to us as children. We can have a total ACE score of 0 to 10. But that number does not define us. It is simply a piece of our personal story. Where it leads is up to you.

When we're a child experiencing severe, ongoing stress --like ACEs or discrimination -- it can cause our body's stress response system to get stuck "on" and disrupt our brains, our bodies, even our genes.

These disruptions can affect us in childhood and have ripple effects throughout our lives. 

Yes. ACEs and topic stress changes how we function, not just how we feel.  Reach out to us to learn more about how they can change us in these three ways:  brain and body, epigenetic, and coping. 

Yes. The effects of toxic stress brought on by ACEs and other childhood adversity can be embedded throughout our entire being. So it's not surprising that their effects can ripple into every area of our lives, throughout our lives. We would love to talk with you to share more about how our lives and impacted by ACEs.

Yes. The effects of ACEs can be passed on from generation to generation through both behavior and biology.  But guess what?  It's also true that healing, strength and resilience can be passed down from generation to generation.  Reach out to us to learn more about how to have more control over your life. 

Yes. Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 2019 identified 7 Positive Childhood Experiences that can be protective.  

Glenn County is working to help adults in our community address their own ACEs and prevent them for their children, breaking generational cycles.