Very good summary Datun.
A key aspect in a range of comorbid conditions is fear, insecurity and the need to extent some sort of control over those feelings and contexts.
This is exactly why toddlers and preschooler develop little foibles, resistance to things and tantrums, often especially in reaction to change or new things they're learning. They increasingly learn the world is an exciting but scary place and they have the ability to exert influence.
We see fear and anxiety in a lot in children on the autistic spectrum. Some of the young people I teach who are very capable and sociable communicators are actually the children with more anxious behaviours. A colleague has an autistic son and she often reflects that in some ways as he's less aware of the wider social world, that gives him a "softer bubble" to exist in.
Attempts to communicate fear or insecurity can translate to withdrawing, disengagement and often, particularly if the child also has adhd or has had trauma, extreme emotional reactions. Trying to cope in a 'normie world' (aka mainstream U.K. schooling) can create trauma for some. (Not all, these are generalisations.)
Anorexia is more common in teens with autism, often those not yet diagnosed and seemingly coping well in mainstream.
Traumatic experiences in childhood can create similar "symptoms" or observed behaviours to children with autism. I know of young people who have ended up with the autistic diagnosis as then the interventions and education routes are more appropriate for their needs.
It is not difficult to understand many aspects of gender dysphoria through the lens of an anxious need to gain some sort of control. And it shouldn't be difficult for the Tavistock quite frankly. I have many colleagues who understand this.
These are different between the sexes - for a male child I taught it wasn't about that. He just liked the stereotypes associated with the opposite sex. Very influenced by programs on tv and the stereotypical Disney films of the past. I don't believe he was gay either.
And despite what we are instructed by the National autistic society, there are definitely sensory involvements. If a child prefers the "wrong" sensory clothing styles associated with their sex, they are not "trans." In the last 15 years sensory processing needs has been added to the "triad" within autism social communication: social imagination, (social problem solving), and social interaction, because autistic people said these are the hardest aspects of daily life to deal with.
For some time I've noticed that Temple Grandin's voice has been quietly dropped. She has described perfectly these sensory difficulties and how she coped with them. She developed the squeeze box when she noticed how calming it was; we now have rollers in schools children can roll through. We have bear hugs which are basically like binders, but prescribed for short periods of time.
The thing is, as Dr Jess Taylor has been talking about, we have a tendency now in society and medicine to pathologise normal human emotions and reactions to events around us.
We can all experience feelings of pressure and a sense of needing some control over our lives. We all experience fear, low self esteem, burn out through over work.
I don't need to illustrate here how gender ideology offers a special status. When I was in my early 20s had friends who were involved in an active evangelical church. I remember being actively love bombed by them for a time, because they knew I was going through a tough time, before they realised I wasn't interested. I understood science and history and why religion is needed and used in communities. It came from a genuine will to help, but also because they had an ideology that they saw as the cure for everything. The church later imploded due to "scandals."
There needs to be a huge body of work around this, hopefully Cass will kick start it. It will take a long time to unpick the damage imbedded in organisations such as NAS, within education and within the nhs itself.