ACEs - Adverse Childhood Experiences

Written by Sofia Martinez, Summer 2026 Intern. Edited by Lilly Fellows, Co-Executive Director.

Childhood is an extremely important foundation for the development of the self. Children are like sponges: able to absorb and adapt to their environment. Childhood is universally unique and equally as disproportionate. Aspects of a child’s environment can influence their sense of safety, stability, and security while also making them more vulnerable to traumatic experiences. Trauma that occurs during childhood has the potential to severely impact an individual’s health, well-being, and everyday life. These experiences are referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). In this blog, we will identify what ACEs are, how to detect them, and ways to prevent them.

What are ACEs?

ACEs typically characterize extremely traumatic experiences that occur during the first 17 years of an individual’s life. Most examples include witnessing or experiencing cases of violence, abuse or neglect in the home or community. Despite ACEs being common, they tend to impact some demographics more often than others, with the differences linked to social and economic environments families live in. According to the Center for Disease and Control (CDC), ACEs are most common among females and American Indians or Alaskan Natives. Additionally, every 3 in 4 high school students report experiencing one or more ACEs, while every 1 in 5 report experiencing four or more ACEs.

How do ACEs impact the child?

Enduring childhood trauma creates high amounts of stress in the body. As a result, ACEs have been found to negatively impact blood pressure, breathing patterns, bladder control, and memory. Neurologically, there are three parts of the brain that are primarily targeted by ACEs: the hippocampus (where the memory functions), the prefrontal cortex (logical thinking), and the amygdala (emotional processing). When these three areas are impacted due to prolonged stress, it can impact future brain development, immune systems, and stress-response systems. This can detrimentally impact how the future adult handles stress and adversity. It can also increase their susceptibility to obtaining physical, mental, and behavioral illnesses and disorders in their adult life. 

For any individual, abuse of any kind is extremely important to detect and prevent. Children may struggle with how to advocate for themselves or in some cases, they may not even know that what they’re going through is not normal. Because of the severity of ACEs, it is essential to detect them quickly. Several signs of ACEs in children can include: fear of other people, difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares, bedwetting, changes to their mood, difficulty showing affection, difficulty learning, and avoiding situations or events that relate to a traumatic experience.

Preventing and responding to ACEs

Preventing and responding to ACEs has the potential to reduce suicide attempts among highschool students by 89%, prescription pain medication misuse by 84%, depression in adults by 78% and heart disease by 22%. Preventing ACEs requires an understanding and acknowledging of the factors that put people at risk. Under-funded communities are the most at risk for ACE development due to their association with higher crime rates, lower quality education outcomes and less community resources. 

If you detect a child may be–or is currently–experiencing ACEs, the most important thing to provide is support and trust. ACEs create instability and vulnerability between a child and the caregiver connected to the cause of the ACE. As a result, the child tends to lose that sense of security with peers, but most importantly, with trusted adults. Restoring this is essential for ensuring the child has someone to feel safe, loved and respected with. The child’s needs may vary based on the specific type of ACE the child is experiencing, but some foundational practices to help support the child can be through: establishing consistency, fostering trust, teaching emotional and physical regulation techniques, and connecting them with mental health support. 

When an individual experiences ACEs in childhood and has been unable to address them, it can affect relationships, conflict management skills, and communication skills in adult life. Adults in these situations may be at risk for toxic stress: a state of prolonged stress as a response to a traumatic event. The 10 ACEs of Trauma test is a test used on adults to measure the presence of ACEs throughout their development. This is then calculated to measure the risk of developing toxic stress. The 10 ACEs include: domestic violence, substance use, mental health conditions, parental separation or divorce, incarceration, emotional/physical/sexual abuse, and emotional or physical neglect. When offering support to an adult who experienced ACEs, one must consider a trauma-informed approach. This means prioritizing validation, active listening, and patience. Individuals in these situations seek to be heard and understood before they can trust their relationship and environment. 

Preventing ACEs means creating and fostering safe, stable relationships and environments for children. This can be done through mentorship, career workshops, parent training, affordable quality childcare, and more. Families can seek support for how to navigate job security and personal welfare in order to ensure healthy development for their children. For those who have experienced ACEs, self-care and therapy offer the strongest support towards healing from childhood trauma. It’s important to remember you are never alone. ACEs are common. 

Participating in community resources, advocating against ACEs, or fostering a child’s knowledge, creativity, and safety are all methods of prevention against ACE development. If you see a friend who has gone through–or may be going through–ACEs, remember the most important thing is to provide support and trust. Be an active listener. Remind them they are safe. Advocate for them if they can’t do it for themselves. Validate their feelings. Foster resilience. We encourage you to find ways in which you can promote ACE prevention in your own life!

The ACE Scorecard

Download the Scorecard Here

ACE Scorecard Actions Catalog

ACE Scorecard Actions 

The ACE Scorecard is an exciting and optional scorecard challenge containing actions that promote engagement in the community and simultaneously decrease the emotional impacts of ACEs. Research has shown that the consequences of childhood trauma–emotional, psychological and physical–can all be deterred with actions that promote creativity, socialization and reflection. The following scorecard is meant to be completed as a challenge on an individual level and on a larger scale. Participants who complete the scorecard in its entirety have shown to be active bystanders in preventing the harm of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). For more on ACEs, check out our ACE blog and discussion guides!

Mentorship: make a friend with someone outside of your grade or age range.

Mentorship has been shown to be the most effective way to reduce emotional impacts of trauma. Having a friend that is older than you allows you to learn alternative perspectives about the future world you will be navigating. Making a friend that is younger than you allows you to practice modeling and advising–a different form of care. In these relationships, behaviors are often modeled. For those who have experienced ACEs, having a “mentor” means having someone safe to trust–whether that be a trusted adult or an older friend looking out for their wellbeing. 

Explore your creativity: find a new hobby

Exploring your creativity may look like many different things. This action encourages you to find what catches your interest, what makes you curious, or what simply makes you forget about anything else. By finding a new hobby, this action focuses on repetition and creativity as alternative forms of self-care. Maybe try going even further as to implementing this hobby into your daily routine. Doing so allows for repetition–which is the foundation of mastery! Improve this new hobby and turn it into a long-term skill that you can share with others!

Practice affection: Show that you care with actions or words

Affection doesn’t always mean physical touch. Showing affection can be through a compliment or a gift. It may even be through a joke. Practice the different ways that you can show affection to your peers. Affection is deeply related to empathy and our abilities to connect with others. By targeting those skills, we can provide comfort to others while also promoting emotional expression in social settings. These skills also help children feel safer and more confident, which then allows them to tackle the world like resilient, creative explorers!

Read about consent: Learn what consent and permission mean

Research states that the most common ACEs occur as forms of abuse. Whether it's physical, sexual, or verbal, it is important for individuals to learn about consent and boundaries. Read our blog about consent. Develop the language to express these boundaries. Learn when a behavior is concerning and what to do if consent is not respected. 

• Bonus point: Teach someone what consent means

  • Teaching others something you just learned is one of the best ways to remember a new skill. It engages your memory recall and restores long-term processing.

• Bonus point: Practice consent with a friend

  • Practicing consent helps visualize what it can look like once the scenario comes. You begin to learn the ways you wish to express this boundary and you’re also teaching your friend as well!

Practice self-care

Practicing self-care has been one of the most recommended actions for preventing emotional instability from trauma. Self-care prioritizes wellbeing and mindfulness. It is a practice of care and even more important when you are helping yourself. This action can be as small as eating some fruits and can be as large as buying something new for yourself. Self-care can be anything, as long as it is something that benefits your wellbeing and health! 

• Bonus point: practicing self-care with a friend or loved one

  • Spread the care! Make it a fun thing to do with a partner. Socializing with loved ones can be a form of self-care, enjoy it!

• Bonus point: incorporate self-care into your daily routine

  • Having consistency in routines has been proven to reduce anxiety. By combining care and consistency, you have the ability to drastically reduce anxiety while also practicing mindfulness!

Read about Active Listening Techniques

Active listening is a skill that has been linked to empathy. In active listening, we learn about how engagement can be shown in conversations. By understanding how to communicate with someone in conversation, you learn the ways to connect with them. Mastering this skill can lead to more connections in your life that make you feel safe, trusted, and respected! Check out our guide on active listening techniques!

• Bonus point: Practice active listening through conversations with a classmate, friend or loved one.

  • Strengthen this skill by practicing with the people around you! Have a conversation and notice how your body language plays a role in your attention. Notice how the conversation benefits from the active listening techniques. 

Meditate or journal

Try to sit in your thoughts for a couple of minutes and, if you like, write down what you felt. Doing this practices emotional regulation, reduces stress and increases self-awareness. Writing down thoughts or feelings helps break cycles of anxiety and helps guide perspectives out of stress! 

Visit Local Centers

This action encourages you to visit local community gardens, community spaces for children, parks, etc. In doing so, this action motivates you to familiarize yourself with your nearby resources. Knowing what is available to you is important for yourself but your community. Maybe you can check out local centers with a friend or loved one, share the knowledge!

Identify 3 safe and trusted individuals or community spaces you can count on

Similar to the previous action, this one encourages you to note 3 individuals or places that make you feel safe. This can be a teacher, guidance counselor, coach, family member, friend, partner, religious spaces, gyms, loved one’s homes, etc. Identifying these three spaces is important to note in times of distress. These are people or places that are there without judgement, foster safety and respect your boundaries!

Build your dream club!

This action can be done as a journal prompt or conversation starter. It can come in many forms but essentially it encourages you to tap into your creativity. Think about something you may be interested in. If you were to start a club–either in your school, office, friend group, etc–think about what you would like to do with this club. What events would you host? What community members or brands could you collaborate with? This question allows you to think creatively and collaboratively with others, while also thinking about a plan of action. 

• Bonus point: Share your idea and get the club started!

  • Share the idea with someone who may be able to help you start this idea! It may be a teacher, your boss, or a friend. Work together to turn your idea into a reality!

Read the Emotion Wheel (located at bottom of document)

The Emotion Wheel is a wheel that has been used throughout many wellness practices to help identify the vocabulary to properly articulate emotions and feelings. Get familiar with the wheel and see what words you may use to describe your current feelings. Are there any you have never heard of before? Identify an emotion you haven’t felt in a long time. 

• Bonus point: Practice using the Emotion Wheel on characters in a show, book or movie you are reading. 

  • Try to see what they may be feeling by reading their facial expressions. Correlate their emotions to the wheel. Try to identify why they may be feeling what they are feeling. This is directly practicing empathy and is a great step of determining when someone may need support. 

• Bonus point: Have a conversation with a friend or loved one using the Emotion Wheel.

  •  Put it into practice! Teach someone else about the wheel. Introduce them to a new word. Tell them how you are feeling. 

• Bonus point: Print it out to carry with you or have it in your room!

  • Make the wheel portable so you have the words to articulate your emotions. Over time, you may find that you no longer need it!

Complete an act of kindness

Practice empathy through an act of kindness. This can take many forms. Do something for someone else. It can be a stranger, a friend, an animal or even an environment. Maybe this can look like picking up trash at a park or volunteering at a community center. Increase connections, learn about your resources, and practice empathy for others. Lead by example!

Read a nonfiction or fiction book about a cultural, social or environmental issue

Take the time to read a book that falls within the following categories to increase awareness regarding the issue and to promote resilience within your community. Educating yourself on the following topics allows you to become a more aware active bystander. It may even lead to action in your community. See where it takes you!

• Bonus point: Read a banned book

  • Banned books often share messages that are restricted due to political, social or cultural issues. They reflect a restriction of freedom in the media and share messages that other books may not. Learn more about the history of the book you chose, and why it was banned. 

Create something with a friend. 

This action encourages you to make something tangible. Pretend to make something new. Think about an invention you can make with a friend. Work together to determine how you would plan it out. Maybe you may need to draw it out. Think about what it does. What led you to create this? Tap into your creativity and resilience. Create something from scratch. Maybe even a meal. The opportunities are endless with this action!