Did a parent often push, grab, slap or throw something at you? Did a person five years older than you touch you in a sexual way?
Those are just two questions from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) quiz given to students at Seattle's alternative high school, the Interagency Academy. Students at "Last-Chance High" are traumatized, reporting an average of 7 adverse experiences in their background.
Principal Kaaren Andrews says early childhood trauma is a public health crisis leading to bad health choices and early death. But it doesn't have to be that way.
"Teaching resilience is the antidote," she says, as well as teaching kids to understand their mental development, so they can make new positive connections and heal their brains.
That's the idea behind the REACH curriculum, a program unique to Seattle, developed by the staff at Interagency.
Reporter Katy Sewall takes us inside the classroom.
