The P/ACE Framework™

Understanding the rhythm of childhood experience

We don’t all grow up at the same pace.

Some children are met with safety, consistency, and care.
Others learn early how to adapt, self-manage, or survive.
Most of us experience some combination of both.

For years, conversations about childhood experience have focused almost exclusively on what went wrong. While understanding adversity matters, it’s not the whole story—and it’s not the future.

The P/ACE Framework™ (Positive / Adverse Childhood Experiences) was created to shift the conversation from counting harm to understanding pattern, pace, and possibility.

Childhood doesn’t just shape what we remember.
It shapes how we respond.

How we regulate emotions.
How we handle conflict.
How we relate to authority.
How we parent.
How we teach.
How we lead.

The P/ACE Framework was built on a simple but powerful truth:

People are not broken. They are patterned.

When we understand the rhythm of our early experiences—where support was present, where it was missing, and how we adapted—we gain the freedom to respond with intention instead of reaction.

P/ACE is not a diagnosis.
It is not a trauma label.
It is not a clinical assessment.

It is an educational, reflective framework informed by decades of research on childhood development, resilience, and both adverse and positive experiences.

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?”
P/ACE asks, “What shaped me—and how does it show up now?”

This shift changes everything.

P/ACE is pronounced “pace” for a reason.

Healing, growth, and awareness don’t happen on a timeline dictated by anyone else.
They happen when people are given space, language, and permission to move forward at their own pace.

By holding positive and adverse experiences together, the P/ACE Framework honors the full story—without shame, without blame, and without minimizing what mattered.

The P/ACE Framework was created for:

• Parents who want to understand how their past influences their parenting
   
• Educators and leaders who want to respond with awareness rather than reactivity
   
• Adults who are ready to reflect, grow, and intentionally choose what they pass forward
   
• Communities seeking prevention, not just intervention
   

You don’t need a perfect childhood to build a healthy future.
You need understanding—and choice.

Awareness creates choice.
Choice creates change.
Change, over time, creates freedom.
 

The P/ACE Framework exists to give people that awareness—clearly, responsibly, and without judgment.

Not to diagnose the past.
But to shape the future.

Be Notified When the P/ACE Reflection Is Live: 

https://www.cognitoforms.com/DontScrewUpYourKidsPodcast/ThePACESelfReflectionAssessmentWaitlist