Battle Ground educators, leaders confront childhood trauma

BATTLE GROUND – Social workers, educators and community leaders from around Clark County gathered in Battle Ground last week to hear a talk on building resiliency in children and mitigating the effects of adverse childhood experiences in local youth.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a psychological term that describes a traumatic event or stressor which affects the growth and development – and often the behavioral trajectory – of a child. ACEs refer to some of the most tragic events in society, from childhood psychological, physical and sexual abuse to emotional and physical neglect. In many affected households, children witness alcoholism, spousal abuse, and drug use. ACES can affect children who lose parents to prison or early death.

Helping children avoid traumatic experiences may sound like common sense, but new science has led to a more comprehensive understanding of the extent to which ACEs can damage a child’s ability to self-regulate or form healthy relationships.

“When you’re living in a highly traumatic experience in your daily life, your cortisol levels and your adrenaline levels are going to be elevated,” said Cyndie Meyer, program manager for chronic disease prevention for Clark County Public Health. “Over time, that bathes (a child’s) developing brain and actually changes the way (the) brain develops. So, they think differently.’’

Meyer became familiar with ACEs through her work in public health. The effects of exposure to ACEs can haunt a person long into adulthood, a fact first noticed when doctors in one weight loss clinic discovered a pattern of abnormally common childhood traumas in their clients.

Research now shows that people affected by ACEs face a number of elevated health risks in the form of both chronic conditions and as the result of risky coping behaviors. The kids will face higher than average rates of depression and anxiety, an increased probability they will struggle with drug and alcohol abuse issues, and an increased risk of suicide.

“We see it as a root cause of a lot of what ends up becoming chronic disease,” Meyer said.

Science has linked ACEs to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), heart disease, liver damage, higher rates of accidental death, risky sexual behaviors, and HIV. In cases of domestic abuse, children are likely to continue the cycle of violence once they establish families of their own.

New evidence also shows traumatic experiences can alter the expression of individual genes within human DNA, meaning parents can literally pass the effects of ACEs on in their children’s genetic code.

To help combat the effects of ACEs in Clark County, administrators with Chief Umtuch Middle School and Captain Strong Primary School in Battle Ground teamed up with Clark County Public Health and local community service organizations Connect Battle Ground and the ACEs Action Alliance to bring childhood trauma and ACEs expert Dr. Jody McVittie, director of the nonprofit Sound Discipline, to speak about building resiliency in local children at Battle Ground Baptist Church last Wednesday morning.

Dr. McVittie’s journey into the field began in the early 1990s when she took parenting classes to help cope with problems within her own family.

“It transformed our family,” she said. “I was able to become a parent that I wished I had.”

By 1996, McVittie had begun working with schools to adjust their approaches to student discipline, encouraging administrators to closely examine how their interactions with students might produce unintended consequences. By 2005, she had spread the work to schools in the Seattle area.

McVittie’s advice emphasizes “solutions instead of consequences” by avoiding punishment, blame, and judgment, which she says children can internalize, causing further problems. In positive interactions, she distinguishes between giving a child “praise” from giving them “encouragement.”

For example, “praise” (which she likens to junk food) often includes value judgments and approval statements which measure the child against others or against an abstract ideal. “Encouragement” should inspire and stimulate children through appreciation, empathy, and a focus on the value of deeds instead of assigning a value to the person.   

“This is radical,” she admits. “This is very different from what our culture teaches.”

But, she argues, the technique helps children discover appropriate ways to act without punishment or manipulation which could be destructive in the long run.

“How can we teach them what they need to know to begin to work toward restorative practices – toward solutions – instead of this violent and punitive society that we live in?” she asked. “We are perpetuating the epidemic of intrafamily violence.”

Meyer said she was excited by the large turnout for the meeting last Wednesday, and hopes future events will continue to grow. Curtis Miller, Executive Director at Connect Battle Ground, echoed that excitement.

“Connect Battle Ground is a coalition of 130-plus organizations that is able to pull off things like (this meeting) because of multiple sectors and multiple organizations all working together,” he said. “And that’s just one example of the many things that are going on in the Battle Ground community right now.”

Residents interested in finding out more about Connect Battle Ground can visitwww.connectbg.org or by phone at (360) 399-6445. For more information about Dr. McVittie or Sound Discipline, visitwww.sounddiscipline.org.

Though the experts agreed Clark County faces a cultural shift before the programs take full effect, Dr. McVittie expressed confidence in the process.

“Frankly, as you’re trying new things, it gets a little messy,” she said. “It’s a little bit of success at a time; that’s why we take baby steps … Each of these attendees might take one thing home to their families.

“It’s one little piece at a time,” she said. “That’s how movements get started.”