ACEs Awareness

Suzanne knows that 2017 was the turning point because she hosted the Scottish tour of that film, in partnership with her colleague Tina Hendry. The curiosity that was unleashed was part of an unexpected zeitgeist, with all sorts of organisations stepping into discussions about how to disseminate this science, how best to frame the concept, how to alter professional practices to take account of these new discoveries. In 2018, the organisation ACE Aware Scotland emerged, a partnership between Suzanne’s connected baby team and the Glasgow-based TIGERS team. Their large public conferences, attracting hundreds of attendees, would go on to become yearly events.

Suzanne feels strongly that the public deserves to understand the insights of the ACE Study. She recognises the controversy that exists in some quarters around its conceptual frameworks, but she has also come to recognise its power in helping people to step into curiosity about childhood distress. She argues constantly that British culture does not give sufficient attention to children’s emotional needs, which holds devastating impacts for too many children and adults. The solution, in her view, is to place relational awareness at the heart of everything we do – every policy, every practice, every funding allocation, every political choice.