childhood blog post- Laurel Cotton

Adverse Childhood Experiences are types of neglect and abuse including parental mental illness, substance, and alcohol abuse. May include divorce, abuse, domestic violence, and incarnation of a parent. Toxic stresses are the response when the child has experienced this neglect and abuse “such as physical and or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship- without adequate adult support”. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/#:~:text=Toxic%20stress%20response%20can%20occur%20when%20a%20child,burdens%20of%20family%20economic%20hardship%E2%80%94without%20adequate%20adult%20support.)
Adversities such as poverty, racism, and violence can affect the way a child grows up because of trauma. Trauma can affect a child’s development by their functions of thinking and perspective of the world. It may affect fundamental development in areas of language, mobility, physical and social skills, and managing emotions. May cause a decrease in their ability to learn at a fast pace or a child may be recommended treatment or therapy. It may lead to depression, anxiety, and, stress.
Since trauma and ACEs can affect a child’s development in the function of language, it may also affect their speech and language of writing.