Protecting and helping children who have witnessed domestic violence drives April Lott, CEO of Directions for Living. The organization helps patients heal from trauma and focuses on how domestic violence affects a childs behavior.Moms, who are often the victims, are sending messages like, 'Just be quiet, keep your voice down,' suggesting to very young children that they can control the amount of violence, or that they can control if violence will occur at all, said Lott.Lott said growing up with domestic violence in the home often impacts ones behavior as they grow older with many repeating the toxic cycle.Children, as they age and mature and grow, they either identify with the perpetrator, in which case they will then become perhaps a perpetrator, or they identify with the victim, and perhaps will then become a victim in their lifetime, said Lott.But a new questionnaire called ACE may help doctors identify a patient who needs helpACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences. It's really about the number of traumas that a child experiences before the age of 18. And the correlation between these health outcomes, in particular, but other mental health and social determinant of health kind of outcomes, explained Lott.There are ten questions, and each question is worth one point.A question is, 'Were you ever hit, slapped, or made to feel unsafe in your home?' You're going to get 1. You know, 'Did a parent ever go to prison?' That would be 1. 'Did you have a parent or caregiver who ever used or abused substances?' That would be 1, explained Lott.The higher the score, the higher the chance your childhood trauma will affect adulthood, including developing depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or having violent relationships.But new research reveals physical health problems also increase for Domestic Violence victims who may struggle with asthma, ear infections, and more.These repeated exposures to these traumas are literally changing their DNA. They are more likely to have a chronic health condition, COPD, cancer, diabetes, and people aren't putting those pieces together, said Lott.She also feels certain that breaking the cycle of domestic violence can save a victims life if they can learn how to heal.The antidote to ACE's, the antidote to trauma, is strength. It's resiliency. It's acknowledging that the trauma happened. It's, you know, hashtag, no shame, said Lott.With the uptick of murder-suicides in the Tampa Bay area over the last two years Directions for Living in Clearwater is trying to reach even more victims of Domestic Violence before its too late.