Healing from ACEs: A Parent’s Story

The second story in the ACEs Aware Storytelling Series features a conversation between parent and public health leader Linda Baggio and California’s first Surgeon General, Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris. Linda discusses her personal experiences with ACEs and her commitment as a parent to disrupting intergenerational transmission. 

Baggio came to the U.S. when she was 12, suffering abuse that made her feel that her face was “not worth looking at” and “her voice was not worth being heard”. She ended up developing scoliosis as an adolescent from bending her head down and not looking up.  

“I wish my health care provider knew about ACEs and how to screen and respond to ACEs. This would have made a big difference in my life,” said Baggio.

But ACEs are not destiny. “It’s never too late to begin healing from ACEs,” explains Dr. Burke Harris. “What this information, and what the science does, is it gives us tools to be able to determine our own futures.”  

Added Baggio: “I watched my father fight his ACEs. This work helps you understand that intergenerational transmission of ACEs, and my understanding of that, gives me more power to ensure that my son doesn’t have the same ACE score that I do.” 

Watch and share the video on the ACEs Aware YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa1lsafvxUQ, and learn more about ACEs Aware training at http://training.acesaware.org/.