Migrant children at the country’s southern border are beginning to be reunited with some of their parents. But many families still remain separated and a timeline for return is unknown.
This extended negative experience has sparked debate across the U.S., but has particularly engaged doctors and children specialists, including here in Orange County. There’s concern over the long term effects from these adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs for short, beyond the initial separation.
Alexandra Morris, the early childhood specialist and consultant for Orange County’s KidSCope, explained how ACEs were initially studied.
“ACEs are a set of 10 childhood traumas that have been identified by doctors and surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Morris. “ACEs were identified 20 years ago, but we’re still learning about them in the greater public sphere now.”
The CDC listed negative experiences like abuse, neglect or violence in their initial research in 1997. Now, more categories like witnessing violence outside the home, experiencing discrimination and being homeless have been added onto the list.
These negative experiences have a wide range effects, according to Morris.
“One of the things that we’ve found now is the effects of ACEs are not just emotional,” she said. “They take a toll on the body as well, so it’s become a public health issue. Childhood trauma is affecting adults throughout their lifespan on the emotional level but also the physical and behavioral level.”
Morris explained about the various connections discovered between ACEs and long-term health issues.
“They found that if you have four or more, you are two-and-a-half times more likely to have pulmonary heart disease, two-and-a-half times more likely to have hepatitis, four-and-a-half times more likely to suffer from depression, 12 times more likely to attempt suicide. These are common physical maladies that have been connected to early childhood experiences.”
Morris spoke about the situation on the southern border, saying it’s a serious threat to the children’s health and much will need to be done to repair their long-term resilience.
“These children have been caught in the crossfire of our political system,” Morris said, “and they’re experiencing adverse childhood experiences as we speak. Their brain development is being disrupted and this could have a permanent affect on them through their lifespan.”
Morris encouraged local community to use their resources for any local children with ACEs. Groups like KidSCope and Resilience Orange County have resources available for training, education, and consultation of all ages to help those in Orange County.
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