Intervene to lessen immediate and long-term harms

Intervene to lessen immediate and long-term harms

Timely access to assessment, intervention, and effective care, support, and treatment for children and families in which ACEs have already occurred can help mitigate the health and behavioral consequences of ACEs, strengthen children’s resilience, and break the cycle of adversity.

Children and youth with ACE exposures may show signs of behavioral and mental health challenges. They may be irritable, depressed, display acting-out behaviors, have difficulty sleeping or concentrating, and show other traumatic stress symptoms. They may be struggling with school, associating with delinquent peers, and already engaging in other health compromising behaviors (e.g., alcohol use, opioid misuse, high-risk sexual behavior). Continued exposure to violence and other adversity increases the risk that these patterns will continue in adulthood potentially affecting their own future and their children’s future.