Some of that “involves valuing the effort that the child puts in and not worrying or making them worry about the outcome,” he continues. “Very often we focus on the outcome and [not enough] on how we can achieve it.” The theory behind ACEs is that adverse childhood experiences lead to neurobiological impacts and health risks, which in turn lead to long-term social and health problems. The greater the neurobiological impacts and health risks, the more serious the lifelong consequences to health and wellbeing. ( Kahn and Vezzuto 2015) Impact of trauma on educational outcomes

Attachment theory is frequently cited as an important part of a teacher’s understanding of how to manage and understand behaviour in the classroom.

Tips for teachers

Create calm, predictable transitions. Transitions between activities can easily trigger a student into survival mode. Some teachers will play music, ring a meditation bell or blow a harmonica to signal it’s time to transition. The important thing is to build a routine around transitions so that children know: a) what the transition is going to look like, b) what they’re supposed to be doing, and c) what’s next. Attachment in Practice™' is a 3-day course from the Association for Psychological Therapies (APT), a leading provider of training for professionals working in mental health and related areas in the UK and Ireland. The original ACE Study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente from 1995 to 1997. Around 17,000 mostly white, middle class college-educated people in Southern California completed surveys about their childhood experiences and current health status and behaviours, and received physical exams ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2016). The findings of this research resulted in the development of the ‘ACE Pyramid’, which represents the conceptual framework for the ACE Study and the study’s findings identify a link between childhood experiences, and adult health and wellbeing outcomes: Children with attachment issues may have problems expressing or controlling their emotions and forming positive relationships, which might affect their mental health.

They tend to underachieve in school and are often punished and even excluded. Little that schools do seems to work. As a result, these children and young people may not fulfil their potential as adults, either in employment or relationships.

Studies measuring the effectiveness of interventions to mitigate against ACEs

By early elementary school, maltreated children are more frequently referred for special education services. A history of maltreatment is associated with lower grades and poorer scores on standardized tests and other indices of academic achievement. Maltreated children have three times the dropout rate of the general population. These findings have been demonstrated across a variety of trauma exposures (eg, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to domestic violence) and cannot be accounted for by the effects of other psychosocial stressors such as poverty. Early care-giving has a long-lasting impact on development, the ability to learn, capacity to regulate emotions and form satisfying relationships (Siegel 2012)