What I read just now is a little surprising. They are saying that the problem of being trapped in the wrong body is being experienced by countless kids in Britain now. In fact there has been an alarming growth. This week Zach Avery’s case emerged & it was reported that he happens to be the youngest person who has Gender Identity Disorder. But Zach Avery is not an isolated case.
The Tavistock Clinic is based in an anonymous concrete building in North London & on the third floor, they have Gender Identity Development Unit. Zach Avery has been assessed by experts at Tavistock.
“Over the past year, 165 children have been referred to the clinic’s team of social workers, child psychotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Seven children under the age of five were officially diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) — when a person is born one gender, but feels they are the other.”
Zach’s grandparents believe that it’s just a phase in his life. Maybe it’s not Zach who needs counseling, it’s actually his parents who have allowed him to go down this path. The research done on kids who are claiming to be trapped in the wrong body supports this view. According to the Tavistock’s own figures, up to 80 per cent of these children will change their minds once they reach adolescence.
“A clinical trial is currently underway at the Tavistock which involves prescribing children from around the age of 12 with drugs to suspend puberty, thus preventing — so the theory goes — the mental anguish caused by the maturing of sex organs and changes in the voice. It also makes it easier for them to have gender-changing surgery, should they so wish, when they are older.”
I do feel strongly about anyone who is facing problems of strange nature but I don’t think it’s right to give medications to such young children. Moreover, these medicines can’t be mild. A drug that suspends puberty must be powerful. Children need to go through that phase to know things for themselves. I mean if you are morally supporting them, then what’s the point of giving such powerful drugs? However, six children are already receiving the medication with the consent of their families. And this medication effectively reducing them to a state of ‘biological neutrality’ during the course of the treatment.
20 years ago, this kind of disorder didn’t exist. Gender Identity Disorder was first identified as a syndrome by the American Psychiatric Association in the 90s. And owing to the rise of the net, people are aware about it now. Even typing the words ‘Gender Identity Disorder’ into Google brings up more than one million results.
I still think there’s a possibility that some people genuinely feel trapped in the wrong body & I’m sure scientists have not made up this story.
I also read about this couple who are being referred as loony cause they didn’t want to reveal the gender of their child Sasha. In fact they kept it a secret till he was five year old. Yeah it sounds weird but maybe these parents must have experienced something that made them take this step. Of course they were being over-protective & even I would call them weird but the thing is…there’s always a background that we do not know anything about. We just get to know half of the story in the newspapers.
There are different opinions about using puberty-suppressing drugs. Many don’t approve of it & those who favour them say they reduce rates of suicide & self-harm.
Professor Russell Viner, a hormone specialist at University College London’s Institute of Child Health says: ‘The worry is that reversible treatments [such as hormone blocking drugs] can sometimes have irreversible effects. If you suppress puberty for three years the bones do not get any stronger at a time when they should be, and we really don’t know what suppressing puberty does to your brain development. We are dealing with unknowns.’
Dr Kenneth Zucker, a world authority in this field, runs a specialist children’s gender clinic in Toronto. He is opposed to them. He said: ‘Suppose you saw a black kid who came into your clinic and wanted to be white. Wouldn’t you try to understand what is happening in the child’s life that is making him feel like that? You certainly wouldn’t recommend skin-bleaching.’
He believes Gender Identity Disorder is the product of nurture, not nature — the result of ‘a dysfunctional family or cultural background.’
Another expert, Dr Jack Drescher, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College, put it like this: ‘The most responsible approach, it seems to me, is to watch and wait to see where the child eventually ends up.’
This is indeed a serious matter. I guess waiting would be a lot better than giving puberty suppressing drugs. After-effects of drugs are sometimes even worse than the illness. It’s good to know that several parents are being supportive, & I’m sure many kids are not making it up, they must have a problem, but if parents are imposing their views on the kids, cause at some point in their lives, they were threatened or they had this feeling of insecurity…that’s not right. In fact, it’s absolutely wrong. Alarming growth of gender identity disorder in kids indicates that maybe parents have some influence on the kid who feels that he/she is trapped in the wrong body.
Transsexuals have serious problems. We need to understand that…although it’s not possible for us to comprehend their problem in the true sense but more than that, we need to support them. However, this is mind-boggling that parents could be influencing their kids.
It happens when you read too much about any specific illness, you end up believing that you actually are suffering from that disease. Educating yourself about a disease is one thing but believing that your child could be trapped in the wrong body is absurd.
The Tavistock Clinic is based in an anonymous concrete building in North London & on the third floor, they have Gender Identity Development Unit. Zach Avery has been assessed by experts at Tavistock.
“Over the past year, 165 children have been referred to the clinic’s team of social workers, child psychotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Seven children under the age of five were officially diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) — when a person is born one gender, but feels they are the other.”
Zach’s grandparents believe that it’s just a phase in his life. Maybe it’s not Zach who needs counseling, it’s actually his parents who have allowed him to go down this path. The research done on kids who are claiming to be trapped in the wrong body supports this view. According to the Tavistock’s own figures, up to 80 per cent of these children will change their minds once they reach adolescence.
“A clinical trial is currently underway at the Tavistock which involves prescribing children from around the age of 12 with drugs to suspend puberty, thus preventing — so the theory goes — the mental anguish caused by the maturing of sex organs and changes in the voice. It also makes it easier for them to have gender-changing surgery, should they so wish, when they are older.”
I do feel strongly about anyone who is facing problems of strange nature but I don’t think it’s right to give medications to such young children. Moreover, these medicines can’t be mild. A drug that suspends puberty must be powerful. Children need to go through that phase to know things for themselves. I mean if you are morally supporting them, then what’s the point of giving such powerful drugs? However, six children are already receiving the medication with the consent of their families. And this medication effectively reducing them to a state of ‘biological neutrality’ during the course of the treatment.
20 years ago, this kind of disorder didn’t exist. Gender Identity Disorder was first identified as a syndrome by the American Psychiatric Association in the 90s. And owing to the rise of the net, people are aware about it now. Even typing the words ‘Gender Identity Disorder’ into Google brings up more than one million results.
I still think there’s a possibility that some people genuinely feel trapped in the wrong body & I’m sure scientists have not made up this story.
I also read about this couple who are being referred as loony cause they didn’t want to reveal the gender of their child Sasha. In fact they kept it a secret till he was five year old. Yeah it sounds weird but maybe these parents must have experienced something that made them take this step. Of course they were being over-protective & even I would call them weird but the thing is…there’s always a background that we do not know anything about. We just get to know half of the story in the newspapers.
There are different opinions about using puberty-suppressing drugs. Many don’t approve of it & those who favour them say they reduce rates of suicide & self-harm.
Professor Russell Viner, a hormone specialist at University College London’s Institute of Child Health says: ‘The worry is that reversible treatments [such as hormone blocking drugs] can sometimes have irreversible effects. If you suppress puberty for three years the bones do not get any stronger at a time when they should be, and we really don’t know what suppressing puberty does to your brain development. We are dealing with unknowns.’
Dr Kenneth Zucker, a world authority in this field, runs a specialist children’s gender clinic in Toronto. He is opposed to them. He said: ‘Suppose you saw a black kid who came into your clinic and wanted to be white. Wouldn’t you try to understand what is happening in the child’s life that is making him feel like that? You certainly wouldn’t recommend skin-bleaching.’
He believes Gender Identity Disorder is the product of nurture, not nature — the result of ‘a dysfunctional family or cultural background.’
Another expert, Dr Jack Drescher, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College, put it like this: ‘The most responsible approach, it seems to me, is to watch and wait to see where the child eventually ends up.’
This is indeed a serious matter. I guess waiting would be a lot better than giving puberty suppressing drugs. After-effects of drugs are sometimes even worse than the illness. It’s good to know that several parents are being supportive, & I’m sure many kids are not making it up, they must have a problem, but if parents are imposing their views on the kids, cause at some point in their lives, they were threatened or they had this feeling of insecurity…that’s not right. In fact, it’s absolutely wrong. Alarming growth of gender identity disorder in kids indicates that maybe parents have some influence on the kid who feels that he/she is trapped in the wrong body.
Transsexuals have serious problems. We need to understand that…although it’s not possible for us to comprehend their problem in the true sense but more than that, we need to support them. However, this is mind-boggling that parents could be influencing their kids.
It happens when you read too much about any specific illness, you end up believing that you actually are suffering from that disease. Educating yourself about a disease is one thing but believing that your child could be trapped in the wrong body is absurd.
