Child with Asperger’s taken into care, parents won’t give hormones

[JessicaWakefieldSVH]

This is another article about a child given a child protection order, because his parents wouldn’t allow him to take hormones as advised by the NHS clinic. This is really scary to me as I have a teen with late diagnosis of ASD who also self harmed and is gender non-conforming. Thankfully I had raised her to fight strongly against gender stereotypes and she has never had any issues around her sex or ‘gender identity’, but teachers have sent her to the doctor without telling me before because they saw her ritualistic eating and assumed she had an eating disorder. I feel so sorry for these parents. Imagine being told by your school, your kid isn’t coming home because you won’t give him hormones and let him change his sex- at 15!!

Having the autism assessment really opened my eyes to how little people, including professionals, understand it. How many autistic children are going to be sterilised due to this? Is anyone else worried??

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6817935/Autistic-boy-taken-care-school-reports-parents-refusing-allow-sex-change-treatment.html

I am convinced there must be a lot more to these cases than just the gender identity issue

^^

This. I am a gender critical feminist, but I do not think we strengthen our case by reacting like a lynch mob on the basis of an article in the Daily Drivel.

Sickoffamilydrama I home schooled for a while too but our DD wanted to go back to school.

I’m not going to doubt the story of parents because it appears in the ‘wrong media’. Sorry, but I have enough experience of fucking inept teachers and staff and the useless NHS to doubt them.

I am convinced there must be a lot more to these cases than just the gender identity issue.

Why? What convinces you of this? This isn’t the only story like it, so why do you doubt them? Why do you doubt those that used to work at Tavistock who have said the same thing?

How long and how hard is it to even get some kind if assessment for children who have special needs. And yet one comment about gender sparks this chain of events?

Good point. Took years to be listened to, by the time my DCs were diagnosed with autism I was like, DUH

Can’t help but resent it from a funding point of view too. As if services for autism etc aren’t stretched enough, surely more money is being poured into letting kids think they can change sex

MrsBertBibby let’s leave it ok. I’m not interested in fighting or a derailment on this important thread. My focus here is the right support for autistic people and their families.

why? What convinces you of this?

Experience with care proceedings in UK.

Given mermaids and the like advocate keeling a special box of clothes and stuff specifically to target children with additional needs so they can affirm behind the parents backs I can well believe that everywhere is in receipt of guidance to tell authorities about these parents who question going down the drug route.

MullofKintire

Could you elaborate? What’s your experience with families of children with autism?

Specifically children with autism who've said they identify as the opposite sex.

It will get to a point where the public are protecting eachother by disregarding rules.

Given mermaids and the like advocate keeling a special box of clothes and stuff specifically to target children with additional needs

What?! Please could you elaborate (although I’m not sure I want to know)

Why? What convinces you of this?

I'm a social worker.

Children almost NEVER get removed by care order at age 15. It does happen but extremely rarely. If the local authority had applied to court for a care order then refusal to allow medical transition alone would not have met the threshold for an order. I can pretty much guarantee that.
I see a lot of 15 year olds whose relationships with their parents has broken down to such a degree that they end up in foster care due to lack of other options. That's almost never the local authority's first choice or plan; they have to be persuaded of the need for it and it's usually only ever agreed for a short period of time while they try to work on getting the child home.

We should not be misrepresenting what is actually happening here.

Given mermaids and the like advocate keeling a special box of clothes and stuff specifically to target children with additional needs

Of course they will have tools to work with SN children. Any charity purporting to support children will do. We must be proportionate about how we discuss these issues if we want to be taken seriously z

So no actual experience in this kind of case then?

almost
extremely rarely
Pretty much

So it does happen then and you don't actually know for certain?

BorsetshireBlew

Just to be clear, I used the wrong word in the heading, it’s a child protection plan ( didn’t realise there’s a diff ) not ‘order’. Maybe in this case, it appears from reading the article that the school were over the top in their approach to the parents. The fact is, the child was put into another home. I have no reason to disbelieve these parents, especially when we hear this from other parents and from those who have actually worked at Tavistock.

I can pretty much guarantee that.

I don’t think you can sorry. Not at all.

What’s your experience with families of children with autism?

I don’t think you answered this?

Urghhhh this story is horrible.

Our own DD waiting for ASD disgnosis is also awaiting a Tavistock appointment. I really do not want to go. We have been accepting up to now of name and pronouns but I am ready to fight any kind of medical intervention whatsoever.

DD is 100% adamant she needs blockers asap and we will have a massive fight when we get there. She's already rewritten her own history and insists she's always been trans. She hasn't. She's always been quirky and GNC but rode out the comments and the looks until almost 14 when I believe people were telling her she's trans .

The idea that resisting treatment might get her taken into care is terrifying.

Hope this works. These are from the allsorts tool kit. Advocates help accessing clothes for children with learning difficulties if they dont have support at home.

And the part where parents dont have to be told

GatherlyGal I’m sorry, I understand your worry. I wish I had some advice for you but I don’t know what to say.

GerryblewuptheER I’d not seen that before. Bloody hell.

I have autism (Asperger's syndrome) and am baffled by the blending of autism and gender dysphoria. I was diagnosed five years ago and nothing - nothing! - in my assessment process touched on gender identity.

Where did this come from?

Note that they do not see being trans as a safeguarding issue.

So no issue mixing sexes in changing rooms

And no questioning what could have happened to a child that makes her want to identify out of being a girl.