Jan 20, 2018, Albuquerque (NM) Journal: Suffering early trauma, many NM kids face devastating consequences https://www.abqjournal.com/1122276/suffering-early-trauma-many-nm-kids-face-devastating-consequences.html Today, everyone should be talking about ACEs: adverse childhood experiences. That’s the view of a growing legion of experts who regard childhood trauma as one of the most profound and urgent public health challenges in the country. Hundreds of studies link adverse childhood experiences to a huge array of diseases, mental illnesses and lifelong problems. An ACE is defined as one of 10 kinds of trauma, including all the things that happened in Frankie’s life, and more. Among them: sexual, physical or psychological abuse; emotional or physical neglect; mental illness, drug or alcohol abuse, domestic violence; an absent parent or incarcerated household member. Exposure to these assaults at a young age can alter brain architecture, interrupt neurocircuitry, damage endocrine and immune systems and have lifelong harmful impacts on health and the human condition, potentially for generations to come. The “toxic stress” of trauma can impair learning and emotional regulation, undermine social functioning and even change the signature of DNA.... “You’re basically creating a group of kids who are going to have lifelong learning problems – they’re basically going to be like human road kill on the economic highway,” says primary care physician Andy Hsi, who co-wrote the report with specialists like George Davis, former director of psychiatry for New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department. …

Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.