Charities targeting SEND children with gender identity

[FemaleAndLearning]

This charity hosts some excellent training courses, but I've just seen they are running this "How to effectively support transgender and non-binary young people: for parents and professionals". You can see who is running the course by clicking on the link. Not surprisingly the slides will not be available afterwards nor will it be recorded. This is what it will cover:

-Understanding gender and gender diversity
-LGBTQIA+ terminology awareness
-Challenges faced by trans young people
-Transition pathways including healthcare
-Changing names, systems and forms
-Legal responsibilities
-Managing single-sex spaces
-Improving equity, equality and diversity; policies, guidance, recommended resources

No mention of autism or other disabilities. Obviously this will be a one sided affirmative approach and it makes me so angry that SENd children are being targeted.

I've had to leave parents of autistic children groups on Facebook because everytime I suggest alternative support groups for parents like Transgender Trend, Bayswater Support, PITT, my posts get deleted for transphobia!

I'm too angry to go on the course but have sent the link to Transgender Trend because this targeting of already vulnerable children (young people?) needs to be looked at. I am also going to write to Sunshine Support (the hosting charity) to suggest they show both sides of the discussion and have an event run by a watchful waiting organisation.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-effectively-support-transgender-non-binary-young-people-tickets-353930243887?aff=odeccpebemailcampaigns&utm_source=eventbrite&utm_medium=ebcampaigns&utm_campaign=8444309&mipa=ABIdvVt03MxPrxU4AMcthlIALaOCMrB3baCjQhNM5jyVDw1grWsPTUCcfetsq1OyU2t1_ICzf995JPLf0irr6VPqbSu3TSCGh5HTS00NIfpRTEbKKhbDFsMpUDL1WfOZ3jOAa91nEFGEkPN-5IAimgRq4fmn06LRKdtEyiZj0DHyLH99XHDwF6xmkiBqNIfWFW-hpUju2_4POxZo_Lrsm-PZOJ89ccVY7JGZi2KYLSszceL-XcWU2cYHY3py7snvW6XpdQ_jkw19xTD5BDDbQZE3hM6L9ILQog

It's potentially ableism too.

Trans is more 'acceptable' now and gets met with celebration and attention than other diagnoses.

They also posted this lie yesterday.
I've noticed that on Facebook and Instagram, actually any social media except twitter, the falsehoods go totally unchallenged.

I wonder if things like that could be flagged as fake news? Even polly Carmichael has said there's issues with them

Just reported that image. V easy.

I've noticed that on Facebook and Instagram, actually any social media except twitter, the falsehoods go totally unchallenged.

Because they delete and ban you. They crow about it under that post.

I'll do that thanks

Also reported it for false information on health grounds. It's a whole booklet! But it is so colourful and appealing! Have they not even looked at the Cass Review.

Your instinct is correct: sources of stats for that skyblue 'visibility' graphic are US-based.

transstudent.org/graphics/transvisibility/

That 41% 'attempt statistic' is slightly odd. We see stats in the 40s used a lot in the UK so it's hard to know if that graphic designer has randomly thrown 41% into the graphic without a source because I'm not working my way through a number of US reports to see if they use that there.

However, for UK statistics, this is a good exploration of the numbers and why those claims do not stand up for suicide/attempts etc.

www.transgendertrend.com/the-suicide-myth/

I had a look at the charity's website and their media support person is a journalism student at Goldsmiths, which may explain the approach.

Sunshine Support have posted on Facebook about inclusivity and all the abuse they are getting via email then block and ban people when they think they are transphobes!

They evidently see facts, science and safeguarding children as "abuse". They're in a parlous position - they've backed themselves into a corner with this and it's going to be difficult to come out as the implications of the GIDs scandal spreads far and wide.

Absolutely agree with this. Our school follows the affirm only approach, and when I see students with ASD who have had issues with friendships and bullying which was pretty much ignored by the school.

When this student out of the blue announced he was trans and we had to refer to them with their new name and she/her pronouns the school and SENCo almost trampled each other to offer support.

This is a very vulnerable student who now appears hugely popular amongst her peers, but seems to be playing being a female IYKWIM. There is the overuse of pink and feminine items, such as bags, face masks etc. On mufti days she just looks like she’s been playing dress up in her much older sisters wardrobe as everything is overtly sexualised. I worry about her but no-one is willing to listen.

Autistic children can fixate on something to deal with their anxiety and gain control. With my daughter it's getting a pet. If she's getting anxious she'll hound me endlessly and desperately about getting a cat/ pig/parrot. The thing is, it's ok for me to explain why we can't get another pet right now and I just have to ride out the meltdown. If her fixation was that she was transgender, society is so worried about transphobia that it has become unacceptable to look beyond what the child is saying and rather than find a way to deal with the underlying anxiety, we take what they say at face value and don't give them time to ride this out. They quickly learn that this gives them attention and control and becomes their coping mechanism. That's my conclusion anyway.

I think that sums it up very nicely. In addition autistic children can have very black and white thinking so if someone mentions they look boyish or why do they like Lego, Minecraft (insert stereotypes here) then they will think oh I must be a boy.

Also they struggle with idenity and who they are because of masking, particularly in girls. Being transgender would be an appealing fix to that.

There is reams and reams of data about the overrepresentation of autistic kids in the cohort that ID as trans. I can totally see the attraction

It's really disturbing how many parents see this as a good thing. I do think that being a parent of a child with a 'thing' can be quite validating and give people a sense of belonging. It's not quite munchausen's by proxy but there is definitely a degree of being able to identify as a special victim which is quite compelling. I can see how this can be another thing to add to the list of struggles.

Ds1 is wrapped up in this world, online, but in reality he recoils when faced with anything that goes against his man-ness. I do wonder how different it would be if he had direct rl influences.

I've noticed that, now he's less afraid of covid and is getting out more, his fanboyism has waned significantly.

I'm not sure how terfy he realises I am. I don't bring it up directly, any more. I go with my world is so gloriously big, rather than your world is too small.

individuals and groups selling gender ideology

This sentence needs to be used as often as possible in relation to organisations pushing the affirmation model. That's exactly what they're doing, selling, not educating or supporting or protecting, selling. Like confused young people are a commodity to be profited from, it disgusts me to my core.

individuals and groups selling gender ideology

This sentence needs to be used as often as possible in relation to organisations pushing the affirmation model. That's exactly what they're doing, selling, not educating or supporting or protecting, selling. Like confused young people are a commodity to be profited from, it disgusts me to my core.

Pleased to see some comments challenging them on the suicide stats and showing Cass review info over night

Clymene · 23/07/2022 11:09
This article: www.spiked-online.com/2020/07/03/mermaids-leading-children-up-the-trans-path/

Thank you, that article is very informative.

Sunshine support at it again

ofwarren · Today 21:15
Sunshine support at it again

Re the Sunshine screen shots you posted:

That message is irritating, saying on the one hand that they are inclusive, while on the other telling anyone who doesn’t agree with their agenda ( to be free to brain wash in private) to go away.

That little basic grammar lesson on pronouns is almost funny. Never again will pronouns in language lessons at school seem the same.

Obviously Mermaids are complete bobbins but these self-styled SEND 'advocacy agencies' don't generally have any oversight or due process over, in my experience.

I know someone who runs a SEND agency and her confidentiality and professionalism are shockingly poor. Advocacy isn't a regulated or protected industry, any old sheister can set up an agency like this so I wouldn't expect them to be peddling anything ethical anyway.

Completely missing that it's very hard for children with cognitive and speech and language differences to remember or understand all those ridiculous words.

Being exceptionally exclusionary in a idiotic desperate attempt to be "inclusive."