AAPCA1 & ACEs Aware
ACEs Aware October Initiative: Building Resiliency, Overcoming the Odds

The ACEs Screening tool and initiative to address childhood trauma is a small step in a long history of pediatric research and programs on understanding how children thrive, and how we can support them. 

Promoting resilience is a core part of being a pediatrician. A recent ACEs training organized by UCSF gave many examples of ways that pediatricians support family strengths within a brief pediatric visit. Some of the suggestions by panelists focused on providing positive feedback to families regarding their parenting practices. Others added a question to the screen asking about the child’s strengths and used the answers to those questions to empathetically discuss possible ACEs within the family. Finally, many of them suggested giving parents tools to promote stress reduction and resilience such as “belly-breathing”, outdoor play, or special time with a child. 

What is resilience?
The Oxford dictionary defines resilience as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.”
Other Perspectives on Resilience
Featured Reads on Resiliency
"Overcoming the Odds: High Risk Children from Birth to Adulthood" by Emmy E. Werner and Ruth Smith

"Through the Eyes of Innocents. Children Witness World War II" by Emmy E. Werner

Emmy E. Werner PhD – Author, Developmental psychologist and one of the first female faculty members at UC Davis. Studied resilience and protective factors for a group of children in Kauai for 40 years:

“If we encourage and nurture these dispositions and competencies in our children as best we can, we have a basic survival kit for meeting adversities that tax the human spirit.”

As a child in Germany during World War II, Emmy experienced her mother’s death, the deaths of almost all adult males in her household and witnessed years of devastation and bombing. 
From the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University on Resilience discussing
"The Science of Resilience"
UPCOMING EVENTS
Timely noontime webinars to address issues in ACEs. CME available.
Trauma-informed Care in the COVID-19 Era: ACEs, Telehealth and Beyond
November 5, 2020
Speaker: Megan Gerber, MD
Systemic Racism as an ACE
November 15, 2020
Speaker: Sharon Cooper, MD, FAAP
RESOURCES ON RESILIENCY FOR PEDIATRICANS
Introductory 90-minute webinars are available on their site to support health care providers in identifying their own patterns that can either enhance or limit their resilience and ability to maintain personal balance.

Additionally, Dovetail offers "We are Resilient"TM Webinars and courses to learn how to share practical skills to families for resilience and social and emotional learning.
Here are some highlights of monthly webinars and blogs focused on supporting families during this difficult time:

Blog by Dr. Hilary M. Bowers MD – 9/23/2020
Useful short summary of strategies for sharing stress management tips with families.
With Dayna Long MD, Hilary M. Bowers MD and Pradeep Gidwani MD – 8/26/20
Reviews “Stress-Busting Strategies” and provides examples on how to speak to patients and caregivers about mindfulness, supportive relationships and mental health.
Parental and Provider Resources for ACEs

Tools for supporting families in troubled times. Strengthening FamiliesTM is a research-informed approach to increase family strengths, enhance child development, and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.

Bilingual multi-media tools to help families support kids’ developmental, physical, and emotional needs. Lively Sesame Street videos address many difficult topics, such as family caregiving, dealing with divorce and community violence.
We look forward to communicating future ACEs initiatives with you and your practice! For more information on the ACEs initiative, visit our website here or contact projectcoordinator@aapca1.org.

Our mission is to promote the optimal health and development of children and
adolescents of Northern California in partnership with their families and communities, and to support the pediatricians who care for them.

President: Raelene Walker • Vice President: Nelson Branco
Secretary: Janice Kim • Treasurer: Nivedita More • Past President: John Takayama
Executive Director: Isra Uz-Zaman

California Chapter 1, American Academy of Pediatrics | www.aapca1.org | info@aapca1.org| 916-274-4173