- What are adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stresses?
- How can adversities like poverty, racism, and violence impact a child’s development?
- How might ACEs affect literacy?
There are many adverse childhood experiences and toxic stresses. ACEs are traumatic situations that a child can go through in their childhood. These situations could include violence, physical or emotional abuse, and even neglect. Toxic stress can occur when a child goes through violent, physical, or emotional abuse. According to Harvard University, “This kind of prolonged activation of the stress response systems can disrupt the development of brain architecture and other organ systems, and increase the risk for stress-related disease and cognitive impairment, well into the adult years.” Adversities like poverty, racism, and violence impact a child’s development drastically. Growing up in poverty could result in a child being able to fully develop. Violence or a bad experience with abuse could result in a slow development due to injuries to the brain. Their development can be delayed due to these certain things. Experiencing these adversities could result in learning disabilities as well. Children with ACEs might have low attendance, poor communication skills, and could be missing basic literacy skills. Growing up with ACEs makes it hard for children to read/write, comprehend material, and pay attention in class. This results in poor school academic achievement within children with ACEs.