The A.C.E. Quiz
My case manager and I were wrapping up a long session of the dreaded “treatment plan” update, when he exclaimed, “Oh, I almost forgot! There is a new quiz we have to do now as required by the company.”
He was referring to the A.C.E quiz.
A.C.E is an acronym for “adverse childhood experiences”. The quiz was simple, but the questions were very personal and deep even for us and we are close.
It’s said that the higher your score, the more at risk you are for developing certain adversities later in life.
- risky health behaviors
- chronic health conditions
- low life potential
- early death
It’s important to note that the presence of A.C.Es does not automatically mean you will have any of the aforementioned adversities. It simply means there is a higher risk.
I took the quiz and answered the incredibly personal questions truthfully, ending with a score of 7. I didn’t know what it meant so I looked it up online. A score of 7 is very high. I read with a score higher than 4, things start to get serious.
acestoohigh.com ( you can take the quiz through this link as well)
I began researching deeper into A.C.Es after a discussion with my mother-in-law over lunch. She informed me she recently began advocating for schools to hire mental health professionals as well as give the A.C.E quiz to all students. What a fabulous idea. I love it.
My mother-in-law is a force, and I believe she can accomplish this goal. This particular platform means a lot to both of us especially after losing my husband, her son, to suicide. The idea is that the trauma is dealt with instead of sweeping it all under the rug. Not dealing with the issues, is what leads to the problems later.
My husband didn’t have many A.C.Es at all. In fact, he had a great childhood. He was just sick. With the inclusion of this quiz in schools as well as the presence of mental health professionals, perhaps even the kids who are ” sick” can get help sooner.
The only question I have about the study is why we didn’t have it sooner. I was under the assumption it was common knowledge that abuse and neglect as children affect people later in life. The main point I always heard was that children from abusive homes are more likely to abuse their own kids.
I also thought it was common knowledge children of divorced parents are adversely affected. Bring on the “daddy issues”. If these were statistics widely acknowledged, why in 2019 do we just now have this quiz?
The study actually began in 1995 with the first recorded results becoming available in 1998. I took psychology in college and never had it mentioned. Isn’t that kind of odd?
I am so proud of my mother-in-law for putting herself into this advocacy for our kids. It’s a big deal. She pointed out that since Keith’s death in 2017, me starting my blog about mental health is my way of giving back. I truly hope someone gains insight or simply no longer feels so alone after reading some of my posts. That is my goal.
Do your own research and educate yourselves further regarding this study, as well as take the quiz. I provided a link above.
The world has come a long way in understanding mental health and the effects of trauma. We still have a long way to go, but we have to start somewhere.
