Talk focuses on scars of childhood trauma, building resiliency

The Record-Eagle - 2/25/2019

Feb. 25-- Feb. 25--TRAVERSE CITY -- What you don't know, as it turns out, can hurt you.

ACE scores -- a broad health indicator linked to childhood trauma -- are far from common knowledge, said Megan Stilwill, a pediatrician and ACE interface master trainer. And that's a problem.

"It's quite possibly our greatest public health risk," Stilwill said. "This information is incredibly powerful -- it can help people make sense of their lives."

One's ACE score can be determined through a simple, 10-question survey of early life trauma. It breaks down into three categories -- abuse, neglect and household dysfunction, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each leaves lasting marks.

Research links high ACE scores with poor physical fitness, smoking, drinking and drug use, obesity, diabetes, depression and suicidal behaviors, heart disease, cancer and stroke, to name just a few.

"People are the way that they are because of the things that've happened to them," Stilwill said. "Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, doing drugs, having multiple sexual partners -- those things can also be rooted back to childhood."

Still, one's ACE score doesn't set their lifelong health in stone -- the tally should instead be used by doctors and patients to better understand mental, physical and behavioral health risks.

The solution?

Talking about it.

The conversation comes to Traverse City on March 14, hosted by the nonprofit Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities.

Mark your calendar

Farms, Food & Health: Cultivating Community Resilience, a discussion about the impacts of adverse childhood experiences, will be held March 14 at the City Opera House, 106 E. Front St., Traverse City. The event includes a screening of "Resilience: The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope" and a panel discussion with doctors, farmers and other specialists.

The free-to-attend conversation kicks off the newest year of the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities' Farm, Food & Health series.

"It's a really legitimate, interesting and important topic in our community right now," said Jeff Smith, Groundwork communications director. "We can help people understand things about themselves and their lives."

Understanding, Stilwill added, is half the battle.

The rest is building community resiliency -- bridging skill gaps, bringing caregivers and resources to the forefront and making people feel valued.

Breaking down unhealthy coping mechanisms, like overeating and comfort eating, is Groundwork's aim in helping, said Food and Farming Policy Specialist Paula Martin.

The former nutrition counselor saw the impact of childhood trauma in her past patients -- eating problems, Martin said, are often a result of underlying issues.

"I'm trying to talk to you about diet and body weight, and you're telling me about sexual abuse," she said.

It inspired her to plan the March 14 event, which kicks off with a nutrition-focused lesson for health care providers hosted by Stilwill and other event panelists -- a mix of health experts, school officials, farmers and community members.

ACEs and "trauma-informed" care are powerful tools for doctors, Stilwill said.

"Instead of asking what's wrong with you, what medical diagnoses do you meet the criteria for, it makes you ask what ... led to who you are as a person," she said. "It changes your perspective."

Following is a public-friendly screening of "Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope," and an open discussion with panelists at the City Opera House.

ACEs as an indicator came to be about 20 years ago, coined in a 17,000-patient study by health care company Kaiser Permanente. They expected links to high-risk behaviors, Stilwill said, but the slew of associated health problems came as a surprise.

Further research -- including dozens of studies available at www.cdc.gov -- supports the backbone study and shows ACEs reach far beyond social or demographical lines.

"This is not a socioeconomic issue -- it's an everyone issue," Martin said. "It affects all of us in some way."

It's important to remember, though, that ACE scores aren't an end-all. The measure doesn't consider other risk factors or preventative behaviors, nor does it factor in a person's positive childhood experiences.

But raising awareness -- and changing the lenses we view each other through -- can make a marked difference for individuals and communities.

"Your ACE score is not your destiny," Stilwill said. "If we can make everybody aware of not only their own history, but what they're providing for their children and people in the community around them, we can decrease the number of ACEs for everybody."

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