Everything on this site is a summary of work done elsewhere. This page points at the primary sources, so you can read them directly rather than taking our account of them.
If you are worried about a child's immediate safety, or about your own, please contact emergency services or a licensed professional now. This site cannot help in an emergency and does not operate any kind of crisis service.
The core research
CDC — Adverse Childhood Experiences
The primary public source. Plain-language explanations of what ACEs are, national prevalence data drawn from ongoing state health surveys, and the CDC's prevention framework. The best single place to begin, and the reference behind most of the ACE Study page.
CDC Vital Signs — Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences
The national-prevalence analysis, including the estimates of how much chronic disease could potentially be avoided by preventing childhood adversity.
The original 1998 ACE Study paper (PubMed)
The abstract of the paper that started the field. Worth reading if you want to see how carefully the original authors stated their claims — considerably more carefully than most summaries of them.
Development and resilience
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
The clearest available explanations of toxic stress, serve-and-return interaction, and resilience as a balance rather than a trait. Free briefs, short videos and working papers, written for non-specialists. The source behind our pages on toxic stress and protective factors.
CDC — Child Development
Milestones, developmental screening guidance and free materials for parents and caregivers.
Trauma, treatment and finding help
SAMHSA — Find Help
The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration maintains public, searchable directories of mental-health and substance-use treatment services. This is the most direct route to finding qualified help in your area.
SAMHSA — Trauma and Violence
The source of the trauma-informed principles used across health and social services, and the basis of our page on trauma-informed care.
National Institute of Mental Health — PTSD
Plain-language descriptions of trauma-related conditions and the treatments with evidence behind them. Useful background before addressing ACEs in your own life.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Extensive free material on childhood trauma for parents, educators and clinicians, including toolkits written specifically for school staff.
Schools, health settings and child welfare
Creating Supportive School Environments (NCTSN)
A practical guide to trauma-informed practice written for school staff rather than clinicians, with companion material for classrooms and districts.
American Academy of Pediatrics — Trauma-Informed Care
Clinical guidance on applying this research in paediatric practice, with an emphasis on supporting caregivers.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
A federal service publishing material on child abuse and neglect prevention, protective factors and family support.
Rural and Montana context
Rural Health Information Hub — Mental Health
Documentation of how rural distance, workforce shortages and small populations shape access to care. Background for our page on ACEs in Montana.
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
The authoritative source for Montana's public-health and human-services programmes, including county-level contacts. We are not affiliated with the department; this is a citation, not a partnership.
A note on reading this material
Two habits make the research more useful. Prefer primary sources to summaries, including ours — the original authors were consistently more careful than their popularisers. And treat any single number, including ACE scores, as one narrow measurement rather than a description of a person.