RESILIENCE? Yes, we can build it… Expanded Version The Palmetto Peace Project Rock Hill, South Carolina April 20, 2018 Expanded Version Janice M. Gruendel, Ph.D., M.Ed. Senior Fellow, Institute for Child Success Research Professor, UNC Charlotte janice.Gruendel@aya.yale.edu 203-824-4766

Why Resilience? Why today? Why in Rock Hill?

Healthy Safe Smart Strong We envision an America where all children can grow up... Healthy Safe Smart Strong We are not there now…

We envision a nation where all children are reading at grade level, measured at the 3rd grade We are not there yet…

We are not there either… Ascend at the Aspen Institute We are not there either…

We live and work in a country facing increasing individual trauma and societal stress. This is not OK

Part I: So much trauma… A prescreening gallop through the neuroscience behind the documentary “Resilience”

From the Arc of (Neuro)Science …. The early years really matter Intertwined cognitive and social-emotional development Executive function Self–regulation Empathy Trauma Toxic Stress Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Poverty Racism & Implicit bias Educational and health inequity Politics… Mindfulness Kindness Health Hope Happiness Resilience We can build it… Gruendel, 2.7.18

Another way to think about stress… Parental Health & Mental Health Child Health, MH and Behavior Family Basic Needs Maternal depression Parent-child attachment Domestic violence Substance Abuse ACES Unstable/unsafe housing Family and community violence Not enough food to get through the month Unstable child care Weak social networks & social capital Unstable work status Needs of aging parents School absences School suspensions/ expulsions School performance Developmental delays Health problems Anxiety/fear/aggression Adapted from the Administration for Children, Youth and Families

When Stress Becomes Toxic NORMAL STRESS Getting immunized; Meeting new people; First day at school. First day at work. Presenting big ideas at a public meeting; Kinetic Heights challenge session TOLERABLE STRESS Serious Illness; Death of a loved one; Frightening accident; Acrimonious divorce; Persistent discrimination TOXIC STRESS Tolerable stress that is not buffered by caring, actively-present adults (or peers). The body’s stress system activates and stays at high levels “like revving a car’s engine for hours every day.” This causes damage at the cellular level of our bodies, impacts our health and mental health, and can be passed from one generation to the next at the genomic level.

Two minutes on how Toxic Stress feels in our bodies Click Here Key Concepts: Toxic Stress. Harvard Center on the Developing Child, Retrieved July 2015 Two minutes on how Toxic Stress feels in our bodies

The long arm of early childhood adversity: The ACE Study (a free short primer) CLICK HERE

An Amazing Ted Talk about ACES by Pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris Click here An Amazing Ted Talk about ACES by Pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris

Resilience, the documentary Part II: Resilience, the documentary …50 intense minutes, together

Click here for information on the film and screening opportunities

A conversation with the Panel Part III: A conversation with the Panel …What can we do in Rock Hill that is BETTER than the best we have done so far?

We can learn to listen with humility Opioids Child Abuse or Neglect Violence. Death. Separation Trauma. Disability We can learn to listen with humility Click Later …because everybody has a story…

We can find kids “in need” through universal developmental screening, early surveillance and real-time school-based Early Warning Systems (at the 3rd grade or earlier).

We can partner with families and the community to (a) invest in mindfulness skills, (b) develop children’s social emotional learning in our schools, and (c) promote trauma-informed practice in community agencies including with our local police force. Click ClIck

We can continue to build experiences that connect mind, body and feelings to support health, SEL and resilience

Because grownups experience stress, too We can support adults who are the buffers against toxic levels of stress in children’s lives… Parents, across generations Teachers, Principals Mentors, Coaches Family Workers… Us Because grownups experience stress, too

Strong & Healthy Families Healthy Children… as early as possible Strong, Healthy Schools & Communities We can listen to the science. It says, to raise kids who are healthy, safe, smart and strong “we” need to invest in… Resilience

RESILIENCE? Yes, we can build it together…