Impacts of trauma and ACEs on the brain and learning in school
The brain is a social organ – it needs to connect with others positively to grow and thrive. Children’s brains build in response to what the adults around the child are doing. If a child grows up experiencing ACEs and trauma, their brains will be shaped by adverse experiences and will adapt to ensure the child’s survival.
Watch this UK Trauma Council video that explains the impact of ACEs on the brain.
Specific research carried out by the UK Trauma Council in 2020, found that the threat, reward and memory systems of the brain are the regions most impacted by ACEs and childhood trauma.
The threat system centres around the fight-flight-freeze stress response. Brains that have adapted to adverse environments can become hypervigilant e.g. highly alert to threats around them. This can result in the child:
- struggling to stay focused and pay attention (to learn new and important skills)
- finding everyday challenges and stressful events harder to manage than their peers
- having a reduced ability to regulate their emotions
- seeing/perceiving threat where there is none (faulty neuroception)
- withdrawing or becoming anxious even when in safe environments (further reducing their opportunities to learn and build good relationships)
- being reactive to social rejection
- being at increased risk of anxiety and depression
The reward system of the brain helps children to learn about positive aspects of their environment, motivates behaviors and guides decision making. Research shows that the brains of children who have experienced neglect and abuse are less responsive to processing rewards and the effects of dopamine (an important chemical in the brain associated with feeling good). These changes can result in:
- an increased risk of depression (especially in the teenage years)
- problems negotiating social interactions and maintaining a support network
- reduced motivation to pursue activities/interests
- reduced ability to experience pleasure
The memory system of the brain is important as it helps children learn how to plan, solve problems, make decisions, regulate emotions and develop positive self-esteem. ACEs and trauma can impact a child’s autobiographical memory (which allows them to draw on past experiences) and associative memory (that helps them make associations). Memories of everyday events are overgeneralized and less detailed and negative memories can be overwhelming and influence how a child creates new memories. These types of adaptations in the brain can cause a child to have:
- problems recalling the details of everyday events
- difficulties with planning, making decisions and social problem solving
- a tendency to focus on negative memories and thoughts
- increased risk of mental health problems
Schools need to be aware that a combination of these difficulties may result in:
- children being hypersensitive to shame and holding innate beliefs that there is something wrong with them/they are not capable or worthy of positive things (poor self-esteem)
- children having processing difficulties, including sensory processing (making sense of sensory information, internal feelings and sensations) and executive functioning difficulties (difficulties planning, organizing, initiating, inhibiting and remembering)
- impulsive behaviors that can be deemed difficult or dangerous and are often linked to poor emotional regulation. These likely will not respond to discipline based on rewards and sanctions
This insightful video explains what this might feel like and lie beneath difficult behaviors for a child and young person who has experienced ACES and trauma.