Childhood Experiences Alter Brain Development, A Neurologist Explains

Invisible wounds of brain injury are not just in soldiers who have been deployed and injured in a war zone. They also occur in children who have been subject to adverse childhood experiences. Studies have shown that these ACEs alter brain development and that children with these experiences may even die younger than their counterparts without them.

Even if the child survives these experiences and moves on to live independently in adulthood, the brain’s development has already been altered and they may navigate life with these wounds, resulting in maladaptive responses to stressors and be more likely to expose their own children to ACEs. This also leads to increased likelihood of developing depression and anxiety. In a recent report, the Centers for Disease Control indicated that 63.9% of U.S. adults reported at least one ACE and 17.3 percent reported four or more ACEs.

Which Children Are Most At Risk?

As much time as we may spend teaching our children “stranger danger,” children are often subject to these experiences by family members or someone else who has been entrusted to care for them. Here are a few recent headlines:

• Locked fridge left 7 kids scavenging for food, cops say; Pennsylvania parents arrested on neglect charges
• Parents charged with murder, neglect in death of 17-year-old child
• Drug probe at NYC day care where baby died, three others sickened leads to two arrests: Police
• Utah mom charged with child abuse after allegedly starving kids
• Mom gets 15 years for letting ex-boyfriend rape and impregnate her 12-year-old daughter

While it is important to recognize that these are extreme examples, it is also important to be mindful of the more common experiences that our children may face. The ACEs to be aware of include psychological, physical and sexual abuse, mental illness and suicide, incarceration, violence, physical and emotional neglect, parental separation and divorce, mistreatment based on gender identify, income and food insecurity as well as exposure to substance abuse in the home.

This list is not all inclusive so it is possible for someone to have an ACE that was not mentioned here, which is why medical providers should do comprehensive trauma intake when evaluating children. In a brief prepared using the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, economic hardship and divorce or separation of a parent or guardian are the most common ACEs reported nationally, and in all states.

Although ACEs can impact any child, Black, Hispanic and children from lower socioeconomic status are disproportionately affected by ACEs. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 61% of Black children, 51% of Hispanic children, 40% of White children and 23% of Asian children have experienced an ACE. The higher percentages in Black and Hispanic children are thought to be related to them disproportionately being subject to living in unsafe neighborhoods, homelessness, bullying, discrimination based on race or ethnicity and exposure to violence outside the home.

Regular exposure to ACEs contributes to an increased stress response and can put the child in a state in which their fight-or-flight response is constantly activated. This leads to chronically increased levels of cortisol—the stress hormone—in the body, which is why the term toxic stress syndrome is often used to describe children chronically exposed to ACEs. The high levels of cortisol negatively impact numerous organs in the body, including the brain.

The more ACEs children are exposed to, the more likely they are to have a series of illnesses in adulthood including alcohol use disorder, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among other medical conditions. With regards to the brain, the increased exposure to ACEs has been associated with learning disabilities, lowered IQ, memory and attention problems and overall poor educational outcomes. Additionally, people with more ACEs, particularly if they have been abused or neglected, are more likely to have their children subject to ACEs leading to a vicious maladaptive cycle.

What To Do About Them

Now that we are aware of some of the most common ACEs and their consequences on the brain, here’s what we can do about them. First and foremost is prevention. ACEs often occur because of a child’s family history and socioeconomic status. They may be in a stressful environment with family members who are overwhelmed or suffering from mental illness. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to ask for help.

If you know a parent or family who is overwhelmed, periodically check in and give them emotional and other forms of support. Sometimes just asking someone if they are okay may not be enough. If you are genuinely concerned, make that clear. If they are not ready to share with you, then you may refer them for help.

We can also take steps to minimize the impact of adverse childhood experiences on children by providing positive childhood experiences. To boost a child’s confidence, wellness and resilience, they should spend quality time with parents and other family members, eat regular healthy meals, get a good night’s sleep and participate in some form of physical activity on a daily basis. They should be encouraged to play and to experience laughter, all of which are also important for their brain’s development. Proving a close knit loving environment can be a game changer for the development of a child’s brain.

This is easier said than done since for many children the adverse experience is the fact that they are being neglected and there is nobody in the home willing or capable of offering these positive experiences. Making this problem even more complex is the fact that for many children, a large number of adverse experiences occur by the first year of life, a time when bonding and being close to parents and other loves ones is critical for development.

This is why volunteering to help in communities that are disproportionately impacted by ACEs can be a way to facilitate a positive childhood experience. This includes volunteering to expose these young people to sports, academic activities and the arts. Mentoring programs in underserved communities can serve as an early constructive educational intervention in the lives of young African-American, Hispanic and Native American children from economically disadvantaged families.

Despite decades of awareness about the impact of ACEs, it appears that more children are being exposed and not enough work is being done to protect our children from these experiences. Knowledge of ACEs should also prompt us to become more trauma informed as we engage with people around us. Teachers, medical providers, policy makers, community members, social workers and others who engage with children must come together to prevent ACEs in our children. Given the pervasiveness of these ACEs, it is imperative that more people are made aware of them so we can better work to limit their impact on our children’s development.