Key to Successful Treatment of Transgender Patients May Involve Delay of Puberty
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/key-to-successful-treatment-of-transgender-patients-may-involve-delay-of-puberty-92002474.html (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/key-to-successful-treatment-of-transgender-patients-may-involve-delay-of-puberty-92002474.html)
BOSTON, April 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Complications from transgender procedures may be significantly minimized when treatment of a patient with severe gender identity disorder begins prior to puberty, according to expert opinion today at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 19th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress.
The reason, according to Dr. Norman Spack of Children's Hospital Boston, is that transgender people treated at a younger age often have a much easier time adjusting into society than those who undergo treatment later in life. A pediatric endocrinologist can administer treatment to delay puberty, giving the patient the time to make a permanent decision later in their teens.
Key to Successful Treatment of Transgender Patients May Involve Delay of Puberty
PR Newswire
24 April, 2010
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/key-to-successful-treatment-of-transgender-patients-may-involve-delay-of-puberty-92002474.html (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/key-to-successful-treatment-of-transgender-patients-may-involve-delay-of-puberty-92002474.html)
The reason, according to Dr. Norman Spack of Children's Hospital Boston, is that transgender people treated at a younger age often have a much easier time adjusting into society than those who undergo treatment later in life. A pediatric endocrinologist can administer treatment to delay puberty, giving the patient the time to make a permanent decision later in their teens.
"The body is in a state of 'pubertal limbo' while the patient undergoes psychological assessment to determine the best course of action," Dr. Spack said. "Their bodies can't run away from them."
God, I completely agree... It is funny that, for young children, the symptoms of gender identity disorder are not looked after. What I am meaning is that even though a child may show the symptoms of GID, they are completely ignored. Instead, in my opinion, they are labeled as 'depressed' or 'anxious'. No doubt that these children are because of their unconformity. But the underlying condition is GID. And, much to my dismay, GID is not looked out for by psychologists as much as it should, even though it is relatively prevalent. By delaying puberty, one could have the option of what they want to be... Not what society and their biology assigns. I know that is very controversial in the popular media, which is unfortunate. Children, not their parents, should have the decision to decide what they want to grow up as; or at least medically and ethically delay that decision till adulthood. Unfortunately, their can be a lack of sympathy for these children in popular society, for the proximate reason that people think that children need to adjust to their proper roles. In a sense, this is true. Children should adjust, to an extent, to the pressures of the maternal/ parental units in regards: value, manners, amount of exercise, habits, cleanliness, dietary intakes, etc. But, something as fundamentally core as gender identity... Absolutely not. Gender identity is not an fundamental property of oneself in which people change or modify. Gender identity is something that is firm in its hold. Hopefully, medicine will adequately recognize and realize gender identity disorder, and this seems like a step in that direction.
Forallittook