Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic experiences that happen to children before the age of 18 and result in ongoing activation of a stress response. ACEs negatively impact childhood brain development and influence how a child interacts with and behaves in the world. 

Adults who have a history of ACEs are much more likely to have negative health outcomes, such as higher rates of alcoholism, illegal drug use, depression, suicide, smoking, obesity, cancer, and heart disease. 

Child neglect, which is an ACE, is the number one reason for substantiated child maltreatment cases in Marathon County. There is a correlation with rising child neglect cases and the number of drug charges which also continue to rise in the county. There is also a wide range of economically disadvantaged children in the schools throughout the county that at times is correlated with single-parent households which can add financial and other stress to a family. 

Resilience is the ability to be healthy and hopeful after these bad experiences happen. Resilience is not about the child “getting over it”, rather it means that a caring, loving adult has the power to buffer rather than cement the effects of ACEs in a child’s life.