Building Resiliency through Neuroplasticity

Page 26

A major finding in the ACEs study was the need to build resiliency. Communities and support people do assist with that but humans and their brains have a remarkable knack for resiliency. Throughout any person’s life there are bumps in the road that cause the potential for stress or adversity. The people who can rebound from these experiences are resilient and have learned and adapted to become that way.   

For a child with a supportive and healthy background (no trauma) there are exercises in resiliency through the support systems they naturally are given. Parents teach children to “pick themselves back up” and try again when they fail or make a mistake. Friends encourage confidence and courage to try new things. Caregivers and educators support children through learning challenging concepts. These are all examples of stressful situations that have the potential to cause turmoil in a child’s life but they end up building resiliency instead. ​ ​  

Children with a history of trauma do not have the opportunity to develop the tools to build resiliency or be resilient. This isn’t always the case and there are exceptions but the brain has a difficult time with resiliency if it is not taught to be resilient. The good news is that human brains can be changed to become more resilient through something called neuroplasticity. The name comes from the fact that the brain, like plastic, can stretch and grow and adjust to improve itself. Through supportive relationships, access to care, positive experiences and more a high ACE score doesn't have to be a sentence for poor health and behavior. This is why it is so incredibly important to be aware of ACEs. It can absolutely be reversed!   

---

Consider this video from Sam Goldstein Ph. D.:

Title: The Power of Resilience: Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. at TEDxRockCreekPark
Source: TEDx Talks 
Length: 9:43​
To view this video on YouTube click here 

Click here to report problems with this video.

Course Navigation Menu

1. Course Agenda
2. Stress Mountain
3. Kinds of Stress
4. Effects of Stress
5. Comparing Stress (1/7)
6. Support Systems
7. Tightrope Walker (2/7)
8. The Brain
9. Brain Architecture
10. ACEs in Early Childhood

11. Blueprint for Brain Dev.
12. Nature vs Nurture ACEs (3/7)
13. Brain Growth and ACEs
14. Myelination
15. Brain Development (4/7)
16. Behavior and Brain 
17. Social and Emotional ACEs
18. Cognitive Function
19 ACEs and Development (5/7)
20. Where do we go from here?

21. Supportive Communities
22. Goals for Community Support
23. Supportive People
24. Supportive Families
25. Community Resources​ (6/7)
26. Building Resiliency
27. Trauma Informed Practice
28. Moving Forward
29. Quiz (7/7)
30. Evaluation Form​
Parking Lot