Autism and Trans

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Firstly, apologies, I seem to be starting an awful lot of threads at the moment.

I just read this article and am totally exasperated at the lack of critical thinking by the author. They state that

Research demonstrates an increased prevalence of autistic children and young people who are gender questioning or identify as trans.

And the article continues to say how you need to listen the child and not label them etc then segues seamlessly into affirming their chosen gender, and how to teach them new rules for their new gender etc.

I don't understand why an organisation purporting to advocate for people with autism doesn't even consider for a second that the increase in prevalence in people with autism is because of their autism, and that perhaps affirming and transitioning them may in fact not be in their best interests.

network.autism.org.uk/knowledge/insight-opinion/supporting-trans-and-gender-questioning-autistic-pupils

This thread is really important.

I started to think I was trans myself before I realised I was HFASD about the same time as hitting peak trans. ASD women are especially vulnerable to being funnelled into believing that transition to a male identity will resolve their issues. It will not.

Another parent of asd trans teen DD here. Mentioned concerns re asd and high prevalence of gender dysphoria to Tavistock workers DD sees, to be met with polite indifference. They know about the link but they don't see anything to be concerned about. How to even tackle that attitude? Instead I am seen as unsupportive because I have vetoed puberty blockers.

That's terrible Nellie - you are completely correct to be concerned and it is very worrying that the professionals at the Tavistock aren't understanding how vulnerable someone with ASD is to making a huge mistake that they will massively regret. It is not unsupportive to veto puberty blockers. You are being supportive of your child - but that is not the same thing as agreeing with your child - who is not capable of making a fully informed decision here.

They know about the link but they don't see anything to be concerned about. How to even tackle that attitude? Instead I am seen as unsupportive because I have vetoed puberty blockers

It is all just so so disturbing.

It's extremely worrying my and I am really quite horrified by that guidance.

I've said time and time again, this needs to be comprehensively and sensitively dealt with at an early age by schools and pregnant professionals, just like with any child with ASD benefits from early interventions. Basic social stories - when you do the proper training by Carol Gray, (as also any other training eg pecs and TEACCH) she spends a lot of time talking about how autistic children struggle with categories. Social stories are there to widen social contextual understanding eg "sometimes boys like to wear pink" - this is the level it is at in primary stages. When it gets to the teen levels things are so much harder, especially if the child in question has begun to find out more via the media.

A child and a teen with autism is very vulnerable outside the trans stuff, due to their social communication concerns. We've had safeguarding training umpteen times where we discuss just how naive and gullible our pupils are.

Also though, parental attitudes really impact good and bad. I've seen both (not just in the trans theme, racism also comes through from the parents and that's very hard to tackle) but I've also heard pupils discuss sex equality, homosexuality etc in very positive ways, due to the influence of their older siblings and parents.

Hence information parents access online MUST be decent. I wonder if the NAS are aware of the transgender trend pack as it strikes me as incredibly important that they are made aware of it.

pregnant professionals - eh?! Just professionals

Though they're likely to be v on the ball if I'm honest!

After a bit of googling on twitter, I suspect but can't be sure that the person who wrote this might be trans or at the very least is very pro trans ideology, liking the types of pieces written by Paris lees etc.

As mother of diagnosed DC with ASD (and wider family members) - I have noted over the years that a lot of trans people I have come across are on the spectrum. Just did a search and pleased to see it is recognised by others as I've not come across anyone else mentioning this.

The looking for an explanation as to why they don't fit in does indeed make ASD teens particularly vulnerable, and can lead to devastating consequences if gender realignment is undertaken looking for a solution to 'not fitting in'.

I think it helps with ASD children to help them see they can be fluid in who they like, but that doesn't define them or mean they're in the wrong body. I have a dd currently exposed to this at school and without fail it is the clearly autistic girls who have latched on to it at her SS grammar school (I mention this as here is no problem with being bit geeky or a bit different IME).

It is bizarre that children of 13 are being groomed to define as lesbian or trans at schools, but this is what is happening. I see it an opportunity for open discussion, but some girls' parents dismissed the issue leaving the child unable to explore and work out whether there is an agenda at work.

Dd definitely has the male brain that is common with autistic girls, as do other girls in the family - but whom have then grown up to be comfortable in their body. How awful if they'd been exposed to trans pressure st school. Keep the conversation open with your ASD children. We discuss having crushes on girls as normal part of admiring someone.

ASD presents with a 'spiky' profile ie can look 12, have intelligence of a 16 year old, but the emotional development of someone aged 9 (this is an accurate description of my DD). Once you add hormones into the mix, it is a difficult time. The emotional development more or less catches up in HFA probably about age 25 I've noticed and people become more comfortable in who they are.

Always told my kids that there is no rush with deciding anything - just keep an open mind and don't label yourself to find an identity just wait and find out for yourself.

Also yes I've noticed correlation with eating disorder and autism.

I believe the wrong approach is taken in solving as a medical or mental issue. It is a getting to understand yourself issue - lots of undiagnosed girls on spectrum are very confused. An ASD diagnosis with support will help make sense of their lives and recognise their need for more down time to process things.

Re this comment > A lot of people on the Autistic spectrum are prone to black and white thinking, generalising and stereotyping < someone made early in this thread. This could not be further from the truth. People on the spectrum tend to be more literal, but not more black and white. Stereotyping? Not sure how that has been attached to autism. It just highlights to me the lack of awareness about autism when comments are made like this. As for the autism & trans link... its very odd because I have a autistic partner and child, my partner is in IT and in the last 20 plus years I have been around so many autistic people in both the IT and Art community and I do not get why or how there is this connection. I have been around mostly those with apsergers, and they are far too smart to believe we can change biological sex. This might be something in younger people, but then that would corollate with the overall increase in younger people, not necessarily autism.

I'm not dismissing your personal experience Penny but I can see how there could be a strong correlation based on my own experience.

My teen DS has ASD (not Aspergers, he's a bit lower functioning than that) along with other disabilities. He is very black and white about certain things.

He has a gender non conforming younger brother and a lot of things about this really seem to upset him. His brother had his ear pierced a while back and my ASD son just wouldn't let the subject drop for weeks because to him earrings = girl things. It didn't matter how much we all said anyone can wear earrings he had difficulty accepting it. This is just one of numerous examples of him not being able to understand his brother's POV.

Now he himself has typical 'boy' interests - football and video games but I can imagine if he didn't, going by his mindset, that he might question whether he was really a girl particularly if prompted by information found on the internet.

From the article:

Ensure that a pupil’s expression is not automatically attributed to autism, e.g. clothing preferences or hair length seen as a sensory need, or behaviours explained as special interests.

Because there just has to be a reason for a girl to have short hair or a boy to wear pink and it must be attributed to something.

Wtf?