Dr. Pamela Cantor Discusses Impact of Traumatic Stress on Child Development

Today, one in four children in the United States is growing up in poverty. Oftentimes living in poverty goes hand in hand with exposure to violence, chronic insecurity, loss, hardship, and disruption. Pamela Cantor, founder of Turnaround for Children, underscores how living in scarcity inflicts a traumatic form of stress on kids’ developing brains-interfering with learning and impacting behavior. Watch now to hear Cantor describe the new scientific research that demonstrates that children’s brains are highly malleable, therefore making it possible to reverse damage. The news is hopeful, and the impact of Turnaround, a nonprofit that partners with low-performing public schools to address the obstacles to teaching and learning that stem from poverty, can be profound.

Click here to watch this video and others on the Aspen Ideas Festival Newsletter website (1:44)