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Revelation?

Government studying childhood trauma

Should one need further proof that the federal government and its bureaucracy are dangerously behind and out-of-touch with reality, take a look at the “revelation” presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week.

It turns out, childhood trauma — or Adverse Childhood Experiences, in CDC jargon — can lead to physical and mental health problems later in life. The CDC knows it’s true because it finally got around to conducting a study, which found those with a higher number of ACEs had significantly higher numbers of health and lifestyle issues such as obesity, heart disease, depression, and even drug or alcohol abuse, as adults.

Those results will come as no surprise to those working in health care and education here in our area.

What a shame that it takes the federal government’s stamp of legitimacy on decades worth of observations by those actually working with at-risk kids before real change can take place.

While it is infuriating to realize we have become so dependent on the federal government telling us what is true, rather than using our own critical thinking and common sense, it is good to know the feds have caught up, at least on this one. Here’s hoping it truly will make a difference — possibly with some funding to help states such as those where drug abuse has caused a spike in ACEs.

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