Autism and gender identity

[WarriorN]

A new resource from Transgender Trend and absolutely thorough in its up to date research links from around the globe.

Several downloadable articles/resources.

Fantastic resources.

www.transgendertrend.com/autism-gender-identity-introduction/

The recently published interim report in the Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people led by Dr Hilary Cass, noted the concerns raised about the number of neurodiverse children presenting at GIDS. 6

The current cohort of referees, the largest and fastest growing in history, is overwhemingly girls, all of whom developed dysphoria and/or adopted a transgender identity after commencing puberty and overwhelmingly in clusters of girls in schools and among friendship groups.
This cohort also appear to develop dysphoria very suddenly, and in tandem with binge watching social media channels such as YouTube or Tik Tok, and spending a significant amount of time in chat groups on websites Tumblr, Reddit and Discord. There, their dysphoria and/or identity will be swiftly validated by strangers who have no knowledge of their circumstances, medical history or any vulnerabilities that may be caused by neurological differences such as Autism or ADHD

We are extremely concerned that autistic children and adolescents are not receiving optimal care; either in terms of their Autism being recognised, or taken into account when under the care of gender identity services. We have collated within this report all the research, studies, and media that make up our knowledge base for Autism and identity issues.

We hope that in pulling together all this information in one place, parents and caregivers – as well as professionals, can better understand autistic children and young people, support them more effectively, and engage with clinicians and therapists with greater confidence.

It is also to be hoped that researchers and advocacy organisations working in the field of Autism will see within this report a compelling basis for undertaking serious unbiased research into this unprecedented and fast moving phenomenon. The juvenile autistic community is vastly overrepresented among the current cohort of gender dysphoric children and adolescents. It is vital that we understand the reasons for this recent seismic shift in identity issues and investigate fully what it is about being an autistic youth in today’s society that makes identifying away from your fundamental core self, such an attractive proposition.

Thanks for this.

Thank you for sharing. Some parents (mostly mums) are hooked on the idea too. I left a patent group recently because my pets keep getting deleted and I get called a bigot. I only present facts and link to organisations like TT. It seems once the parents are on board they won't hear any other argument.
I really hope this report has a short sharp impact and saves autistic girls from harming themselves.

I've had a chance to read it now; it's all absolutely excellent.

Page 11 - I'm so glad this was included as this is from my experience how the boys with autism end up thinking they're girls:

1.2 Autisic Girls and the Female Phenotype
Although we talk about the female phenotype, it is also recognised that some males share what is described as a female presentation, just as some girls present in a way that is more commonly associated with boys.

It has been suggested that the idea of the female phenotype may be partly based on socialisation, and sex-based stereotypes; if this is the case, it may be that in years to come, we recognise types of Autism based purely on presentation rather than inherently ascribing them to the sexes.

Whilst work raising knowledge and understanding of how girls may "present with autism" has been invaluable for making sure more girls receive the support they desperately need, what I've read on places like the NAS has created a stereotype that can both ignore girls who don't fit it as well as ignore the fact that many boys with autism can also present in the same way.

Tullip/ Ritchie describes elements of this when he was growing up.

The quotes from Attwood are really useful. Jane Galloway has done a marvellous job here.