A Counter Argument to the ACE’s Discourse

1. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair A Counter Argument to the ACE’s Discourse Dr. Lynn .J. McNair

2. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) The original ACEs study defined ten kinds of adverse experience; five that involved direct harm to a child (physical, sexual and emotional abuse; physical and emotional neglect) and five that affect the environment in which they grow up (domestic violence; substance abuse; mental illness; parental separation; incarceration of a household member).  “…the existence of and cure for, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is unresolved and still contested” (Edwards et al., 2017:1)

3. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair ‘Each individual is unique, has the power to express himself in his distinctive way…Each person, each child has a particular gift which will become visible if circumstances are right and freedom for expression is given’ (Liebschner, 1992:36).

4. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair View of the child: • trustworthy • rich • resourceful • able

5. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair The child is transformed into a de-personalized object of systematic enquiry, their individuality evaporated into a set of measurable independent and dependent variables, and then condensed into general laws of behavior (Woodhead and Faulkner, 2000:14) In Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices, P. Christensen and A. James. London: Routledge.

6. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair

7. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair

8. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair “I requested to meet with Margot’s parents to talk to them about some behaviours we had observed in nursery (mainly soiling and urinating in play spaces).  I explained that we were keen to understand the reasons for the behaviour, rather than labelling or judging the child.  Initially they did not feel that they could offer any insight into her choices. They had not observed her doing it at home.  However, after more talking, Mum spoke about a cancer diagnosis that she had had.  This, understandably had been a challenging and frightening time for them as a family, and they had been open with Margot about Mummy not being well.  However, it turned out that the diagnosis was a mistake.  Mum realised that, while she and Dad felt huge relief at this information, they had never actually shared it with Margot.  Once they had realised this Dad also shared that he was suffering from depression and took medication.  One time Margot got a hold of his tablets and swallowed one.  They felt very frightened and responded by telling Margot off and warning her that she could die.  They did not consider that Margot saw Daddy taking these tablets every morning, and so may also believe that Daddy would die.  So essentially, we worked out that Margot could be living with the belief that both of her parents may die, which undoubtedly would cause anxiety and fear for her.  At the time, I was not aware of ACE’s.  However, I do believe as sensitive, attuned practitioners, we should always seek to understand the reasons behind our children’s behaviours.  We may well discover, at any time, that our children have experienced some trauma, and our practice should always be nurturing, inclusive and understanding”.

9. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair “I believe we are each the author of our own stories.   My brother, sister and I lost our mum at age 33.  We all experienced the same loss but the way we have responded to that situation varies hugely.  My mum was one of five.  She grew up with an abusive father, who would insist that what wasn’t eaten at breakfast be served up again at lunch.   He would bring in four treats, throw them into the air and watch his children fight over them.  Essentially pitting his children against one another, knowing that one would always be left without.  However my mum was a very different type of parent to us, and indeed her parenting approach was different to her two sisters.  Yet she experienced the same childhood traumas.  So my experiences, and those shared with me by my mum, has always convinced me that we are not merely the product of our experiences”.  (Lian, Higgins, SEYO).

10. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair No surprises… Traumatic experiences that occur early in a child’s life CAN have a lasting impact… but perhaps we have to consider that is not always, necessarily negative…

11. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel 21 April 1782 – 21 April 1852 • a recognition of the uniqueness of each child’s capacity and potential • a holistic view of development • an ecological view of mankind in the natural world • a recognition of the integrity of childhood in its own right • a recognition of the child as part of a family and a community • recognition of the importance of play as a central integrating element in a child's development and learning

12. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair 5. First hand experience, play, talk and reflection 6. Activities and experiences that have sense, purpose and meaning to the child, and involve joy, wonder, concentration, unity and satisfaction 7. Encouragement rather than punishment 8. Individual and collaborative activity and play 9. An approach to learning which develops children’s autonomy and self-confidence. 1.Knowledgeable and appropriately qualified early childhood professionals 2.Skilled and informed observation of children, to support effective development, learning and teaching 3.Awareness that education relates to all capabilities of each child; imaginative, creative, symbolic, linguistic, mathematical, musical, aesthetic, scientific, physical, social, moral, cultural and spiritual 4.Parents / carers and educators working in harmony and partnership

13. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair • Born 6th child to the village parson • His mother died in February 1783 • After two years his father remarried • Oppressive fear to ‘be good’.

14. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair The Struggles in Life… ‘At an early age I was introduced to the pains and pressures of the struggles in life…for soon after my birth mother became ill, and after caring for my life for three quarters of a year, she died….I consider this event as the one, which more or less, conditioned the manifestations of my outer life…’ (Froebel,1887).

15. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair Bereft of love and confined to the pasonage garden, surrounded by a high brick wall. The flowers and weeds, the beetles and ants beneath him and the sun and the rain, the birds and the fleeting clouds above him, became his trusted friends. This friendship with nature lasted all his life and formed the basis for all his educational ideas.

16. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair Aged 9/10 years (the literature differs here) Froebel was rescued by a kind uncle. Free to enjoy the company of friends his own age. Free to explore the countryside and free to argue and to question the assumptions of adults.

17. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair children need encouragement as growing plants need warmth and light, and they must have their parents’ love and understanding’ (Froebel Pedagogics of the Kindergarten in Lilley 1967:114)

18. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair • After listening to a mother (Caroline von Holzhausen) express her deep concern for the well-being of her children (one was particularly challenging) – laid the foundation for Froebel’s idea that ‘Mother is the child’s most important educator.’ • He believed that teachers were bound to influence ideas in the home because of the trust and respect which teachers, through their work with children will have gained among parents.

19. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair We find a freshness and richness in the life of the child who has been rightly guided and cared for in his early years. Is there any part of a person’s thought and feeling, knowledge and ability, which does not have its deepest roots in childhood, any aspect of his future education which does not originate here? (Froebel 1826 in Lilley 1967:87).

20. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair The study refers to an ACE score, which is the total count of the ACEs reported by each participant. It uses 10 questions to calculate an ACE score out of 10. Froebel would have scored – 6 out of 10.

21. Participants Approx. 70 ELC practitioners on our current BACP student cohort Practitioners and managers in local authority and private settings, childminders, afterschool practitioners, pupil support assistants etc. Mainly women from white Scottish backgrounds, aged 20 - 60 Most are parents themselves

22. Research questions 1. What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s?

23. Methods Group discussions/informal focus groups, visual representations

24. 1. What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? Responding sensitively to children Staff knowledge of children’s behaviours Access to resources Staff training Funding Awareness

25. 1. What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? Responding sensitively to children Staff knowledge of children’s behaviours Access to resources Staff training Funding Awareness ‘Fostering strong, responsive relationships’. ‘Change in perception of children / behaviours’. ‘Knowing about ACE’s makes it clear that relationships are important to all children’.

26. ‘Helps practitioners understand types of behavior which may be displayed and how best to support this’. ‘Children monitored more’. ‘Early intervention’. ‘Understanding how ACE’s affect health and well being’. ‘Understanding a child’s heightened, fight, flight, freeze reaction can help adults deal with the escalation of situations more effectively and in ways to minimize the damage to the parent / child relationship.’ ‘Provides an awareness and encourages practitioners to see past the behavior.’ 1.What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? Responding sensitively Staff knowledge, of children’s behaviours Access to resources Staff training Funding Awareness

27. 1.What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? Responding sensitively to children Staff knowledge of children’s behaviours Access to resources Staff Training Funding Awareness ‘People can access help/interventions which support their needs, specific to ACE’s’’ ‘More support for children and families in the earliest years’.

28. 1.What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? Responding sensitively to children Staff knowledge of children’s behaviours Access to resources Staff training Funding Awareness ‘Trained to recognize trauma in children’ ‘ACE awareness can help adults learn about promoting resilience in children.’ ‘Can help adults understand themselves and their behaviours, adults or compulsions.’ ‘Provides awareness and encourages practitioners to see past the behavior’. ‘Deepen the understandings of grief.’

29. 1.What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? Responding sensitively to children Staff knowledge of children’s behaviours Access to resources Staff training Funding Awareness ‘Funding’ ‘Access to more funding’ ‘Access to more resources’.

30. 1.What are the benefits, if any, of being ACE aware in Early Years Practice? Responding sensitively to children Staff knowledge of children’s behaviours Access to resources Staff training Funding Awareness ‘People to be aware of their ACES no matter their age and to access the appropriate support can only be a benefit’. ‘Gives people awareness’.

31. 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s? Labelling Oppressive Structures Punitive Practices Deficit - reinforcing damage narratives The ‘poor’ child and family as a site to self and society (Quarrell & Davis, 2018) Aggressive Diagnosing

32. 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s? ‘Any sort of label can negatively define people prevent other factors being taken into account’. ‘Who decides what an ‘adverse experience’ is? Fashionable buzzword. ‘My concerns over “ACEs” are that it is labelling children simply because they ‘fit the criteria’. ‘Awareness is great but children shouldn’t be judged on a label, created by a tick sheet’. ‘Could stigmatise children/ adults’. Labelling Oppressive Structures Punitive Practices Deficit - reinforcing damage narratives The ‘poor’ child and family as a site to self and society (Quarrell & Davis, 2018) Aggressive Diagnosing

33. 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s? ‘Questionnaire is too generalized and needs to be used on a more individual basis to provide effective help and support for those affected by ACE’s’ ‘Most children will fit into one of the categories’. ‘They associate trauma with being a negative experience’ ‘Suggests that children who experience trauma as a child will have mental health problems as they grow’. ‘Government should stop talking and start listening.’ ‘Encourages labels’. Labelling Oppressive structures Punitive Practices Deficit - reinforcing damage narratives The ‘poor’ child and family as a site to self and society (Quarrell & Davis, 2018) Aggressive Diagnosing

34. 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s? Labelling Oppressive structures Punitive practices Deficit - reinforcing damage narratives The ‘poor’ child and family as a site to self and society (Quarrell & Davis, 2018) Aggressive Diagonising ‘Often used to excuse or minimize the effect of behaviours’. ‘Predetermined opinons of child and families which may lead to self-fulfilling prophecy.’ ‘Adult-led’.

35. 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s? ‘Can be a very deficit approach’ ‘View of more ‘negative’ experiences, then child as perceived as being more damaged’. ‘(Awesome) childhood experiences should be the focus and is more positive’. Labelling Oppressive structures Punitive practices Deficit - reinforcing damage narratives The ‘poor’ child and family as a site to self and society (Quarrell & Davis, 2018) Aggressive Diagnosing

36. 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s? ‘Trauma – informed care – is this really care? Shouldn’t all the children receive us.’ ‘Creates a blame culture, not designed for children on an individual basis’. Labelling Oppressive structures Punitive practices Deficit - reinforcing damage narratives The ‘poor’ child and family as a site to self and society (Quarrell & Davis, 2018) Aggressive Diagnosing

37. 2. What, if any, obstacles / challenges do you face with ACE’s? ‘Can re-traumatize children and adults’. ‘A deficient model focusing on negative experiences.’ ‘Judgemental’. ‘Focus on a score result rather than the child’s needs’. ‘People are not just written off just because they have experienced ACE’s trauma. People can heal.’ ‘Diminishes child agency’. ‘Not all children are affected negatively by their adverse experiences.’ Labelling Oppressive structures Punitive practices Deficit - reinforcing damage narratives The ‘poor’ child and family as a site to self and society (Quarrell & Davis, 2018) Aggressive Diagnosing

38. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair Reflecting Certain Assumptions. “The ACEs approach, as with other attempts to diagnose and label sections of the population as deficient, has the potential for damaging consequences for the children and adults who are said to possess such deficiencies. Further, viewing social issues through the prism of ACEs may well inhibit our ability to identify and respond to human needs” (Edwards et al, 2017:1).

39. Summary  ACE Awareness could potentially challenge oppressive practices. However… ACE Awareness also has the potential to reinforce deficit thinking, for example, labelling has the potential for damaging consequences for children who are said to possess deficiencies Provide a simple solution for complex social issues. ACEs turn the individual into an object who is subjected to experiences, not a human being who interprets them (Edwards, et al., 2017:4).

40. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair ACE forum page: “I have major concerns about ACE and look forward to your analysis”.

41. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair References Edwards,R., Gillies, V., Lee, E., Macvarish, J., White, S., Wastell, D. (2017) ‘The Problem with ACE’s’. Submission to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee Inquiry into the evidence-base for early years intervention (EY10039). Woodhead, M., and Faulkner, D. (2000) In Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices, P. Christensen and A. James. London: Routledge.

42. https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/lynn-mcnair Presentation title A Counter Argument to the ACE’s Discourse Sub heading of presentation Moray House School of Education The University of Edinburgh Moray House School of Education The University of Edinburgh Holyrood Campus, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ Tel: +44 (0) 131 651 6138 Email: education.school@ed.ac.uk www.education.ed.ac.uk