Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs are traumatic experiences that occur between the ages of 0 and 17. These can include issues such as domestic violence, neglect and child abuse, witnessing a close family member die and witnessing abuse in the home. All of these experiences can cause trauma in a young person.
Other examples of issues that can be classified as ACEs are living in a household where there are mental health issues, substance abuse or where there is separation from a parent either through relationship breakdown or jail time. Although these are categorised as issues and incidents that can cause ACEs it is not a certainty that a young person will have experienced trauma as a result of them.
In those cases where an individual has developed trauma, this can be displayed in numerous different ways. The behaviour of the individual may lead to self harming, substance abuse and mental health issues.
This can make it difficult for the individual to carry out daily activities and they may find themselves often re-traumatised or triggered back into the feelings they had at the time of the original trauma. It is therefore important that those who work closely with young people and in particular those who work in care and health settings, attend Trauma informed practice training like that from www.tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-courses/trauma-informed-practice-training to understand the complexities of trauma.
