What are your ACE/PCE scores?

[tofubreadcoriander]

I'll start with mine. My ACE score is 6. Though I no longer experience bodily issue, I'm still holding on to trauma both in my body and in my mind. Not much on my Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE). What are your ACE/PCE scores?

If you're unfamiliar with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and/or PCE, you can read about it here: https://acestoohigh.com/got-your-ace-score/

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

it depends, and it doesnt matter IMHO.
If you consider the people i fell in with and shared rent with before i was old enough to rent myself a place (18) to be my “family”, my ACE is higher, an 8 instead of a 7. I have never been offered the PCE test so my score is based on my interpretation of the test questions and it is also high, a 5 or 6.
So how can this be?
There are 3 distinct parts of life before age 18. all the PCEs came before age 10. And all of the negative ACEs started at 11 but were pretty much survived and history by age 14.
So what if someone had a really rough early life that was corrected and enjoyed ages 11 to 18? Possibly the same mixed up scores but a different affect?

Not a child development expert but what I'd guess is that that child would be more resilient than if the ACEs occured earlier. The earlier, the worse the outcomes.

ACE- 9- My mother didn't go to jail until I was an adult. She was in the newspaper in the Crimestoppers section a couple of times in primary school though.
PCE-1

Wow. You are a true survivor. Sorry for what happened. You should have had responsible adults as a child. Is the PCE coming from a teacher who nurtured you?

 

[Movingforward10]

ACE 3
PCE 1

i agree that both tests are very limited.
ACE seems more centred on neglect and physical abuse. Sexual abuse is just one question, and only abuse by someone 5 years older than you. So it’s not really covering everything.

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

ACE 3
PCE 1

i agree that both tests are very limited.
ACE seems more centred on neglect and physical abuse. Sexual abuse is just one question, and only abuse by someone 5 years older than you. So it’s not really covering everything.

I presume it's more childhood oriented. Where's your PCE coming from, if you don't mind sharing?

 

[Movingforward10]

I presume it's more childhood oriented. Where's your PCE coming from, if you don't mind sharing?

The PCE was involved in community things.

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

The PCE was involved in community things.

Nice. I remember once in my childhood having had to go buy Easter bread and there was a long queue. And a nice lady turned around and gave me a bag. When I asked her how much I had to pay she told me to keep the money. I felt a fuzzy, warm feeling inside. Kindness.

 

[user27357]

Not a child development expert but what I'd guess is that that child would be more resilient than if the ACEs occured earlier. The earlier, the worse the outcomes.

that seems right, but what about things that happen so early that they arent remembered. Just an example, what if my father had been incarcerated when I was 2-4 yrs. old? I was told he was doing his military duty, how would I know the difference and why would I be affected negatively if I never knew he was in prison?

No doubt, there is no good time for a lot of the ACE's to happen, and some may be worse than others earlier and others later. I know of a family that has moved away from the area because we all know what happened and they hope their daughter never finds out about it, she was an infant. Will the secrecy at 12 be worse than the occurrence at 2? what if she does find out at 18 that her parents were hiding the past? what if she found out at 4, before she was even aware that such things existed? I hope she can live her life without checking any boxes, but it happened.
personally, I think sexual abuse should be 3 points on that scale, and we should figure out a way that the abuser can score off the charts for Adverse Adult Experiences.

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

that seems right, but what about things that happen so early that they arent remembered. Just an example, what if my father had been incarcerated when I was 2-4 yrs. old? I was told he was doing his military duty, how would I know the difference and why would I be affected negatively if I never knew he was in prison?

Depends on the situation. The other caregiver you'd be attached to would send you the message (anxiety/distress coming from mother) or if you would be put in foster care you'd later find out (by researching on your biological parents). Either way it will come out and when it will, it'll be a trauma to deal with.

No doubt, there is no good time for a lot of the ACE's to happen, and some may be worse than others earlier and others later. I know of a family that has moved away from the area because we all know what happened and they hope their daughter never finds out about it, she was an infant. Will the secrecy at 12 be worse than the occurrence at 2? what if she does find out at 18 that her parents were hiding the past? what if she found out at 4, before she was even aware that such things existed? I hope she can live her life without checking any boxes, but it happened.
personally, I think sexual abuse should be 3 points on that scale, and we should figure out a way that the abuser can score off the charts for Adverse Adult Experiences.

I think both are bad, however, the early trauma leaves a larger imprint on the brain. This is just due to how the brain develops. It's very vulnerable at young ages in it's formative years. No doubt that the secrecy is as hurtful - I don't want to diminish that, but in terms of brain development the trauma at the young age is the one that leaves lasting changes in the nervous system and the brain.

 

[Renly]

PCE: 5
ACE: 3

I struggle with these questionnaires because they both are really limiting and don’t reflect the reasons why I have complex PTSD & OSDD.

 

[tofubreadcoriander]

PCE: 5
ACE: 3

I struggle with these questionnaires because they both are really limiting and don’t reflect the reasons why I have complex PTSD & OSDD.

For some of us it's enough to have one ACE. Don't beat yourself up. The tests are just for guidance, it's not a be all and end all.

 

[user27357]

For some of us it's enough to have one ACE. Don't beat yourself up. The tests are just for guidance, it's not a be all and end all.

not a be-all or an end-all, most definitely correct. Not even close, not even a shorthand version of our pedigree. Just another measurement of something that defies quantification.
At best it is a test that attempts to place an individual on a spectrum, but it does it on ten data points, each a binary statement, yes or no. No calibration for when within an 18 year period the binary point is reflecting, how the data points cross effect each other (if you experienced a separation of your parents, did it happen because you were sexually assaulted by one of them and that person went to jail, or was it a white collar crime that suddenly removed your most loving and nurturing parent from you for a time?)
It is not an end-all or be-all, just a number that gets assigned to us based on some very loose interpretations of some very specific experiences.

 

[Movingforward10]

not a be-all or an end-all, most definitely correct. Not even close, not even a shorthand version of our pedigree. Just another measurement of something that defies quantification.
At best it is a test that attempts to place an individual on a spectrum, but it does it on ten data points, each a binary statement, yes or no. No calibration for when within an 18 year period the binary point is reflecting, how the data points cross effect each other (if you experienced a separation of your parents, did it happen because you were sexually assaulted by one of them and that person went to jail, or was it a white collar crime that suddenly removed your most loving and nurturing parent from you for a time?)
It is not an end-all or be-all, just a number that gets assigned to us based on some very loose interpretations of some very specific experiences.

Yeah it very much has it's limitations.
.I go back to the only sexual abuse question and if the abuser is less than 5 years older then it doesn't score.
Lots of people have experience horrendous abuse by someone less than 5 years older than them, and this would mean 0 in this.

So it's very limiting.

But all of these things are.

 

[PlainJane]

Is the PCE coming from a teacher who nurtured you?

Yeah, not that they were giving me any special attention, but it was enough that they were kind and engaging.