Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are adversities that an individual endures before the age of 18.
The first study on ACEs was conducted in 1998 by Dr. Vincent Felitti and colleagues.
The stress response is how the body reacts to situations it perceives as threatening or overwhelming.
Intergenerational trauma occurs when the impacts of past traumatic events are passed from one generation to the next.
When people or organizations understand how ACEs can impact a person’s well-being, we call this being “trauma-informed”.
ACEs are not fatalistic. Positive experiences can reduce the toxic stress response and lessen the impact of adversity.