The future for Flint's children [Opinion by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha]

March 26, 2016 - New York Times

Families here are traumatized; faith and trust in government have evaporated. State and federal agencies responsible for protecting them failed miserably. Much has been written about the roots of the Flint water crisis: misguided fiscal austerity, inequality, racism, environmental injustice, poverty, deindustrialization. These are all important and nationally relevant issues, but the focus now needs to turn to the future, and to healing. We cannot wait to see the potential cognitive and behavioral consequences; we must act. Developmental neurobiology has taught us that adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress change the trajectory of a child’s life in predictable ways.