I am a mother to three children, two girls ages 7 and 9, and one transgender boy, age 11. His name is Cody and he was born a girl. I am writing this because the practical effect of the VCPA for us is that the current care being administered to my child by the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) would be classified as a felony thereunder, which is nonsense. Please allow me to explain.
Beginning at four years of age, Cody began displaying symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), depression, and anxiety. We treated those symptoms with psychiatric care, specialized schools, and medication. I always felt like there was something else we were missing - something big. I struggled to find the root cause of the anxiety and depression and had no choice but to believe that it was a result of the ASD.
This past summer, Cody began menstruating. Two months later, Cody got his hair cut to match my husband (his father's) hair, which is kept very short. He was the happiest I have ever seen him after that haircut. He said that it felt like a whole new him. So, in jest, I asked him if he wanted me to call him by a new name. He asked to be called Conner (now Cody).
At that point, I knew something major was happening: my little girl just gave himself a boy haircut and asked to be called Conner. To me, this did not seem to be a normal "girl" reaction to getting a too-short haircut when you are just entering puberty. We have two other children who are girls, and they are "girly girls," so how can this be.
I brought Cody to his pediatrician the next day. The pediatrician met with him and diagnosed Cody with gender dysphoria: which I was told usually occurs at the onset of puberty and has a higher occurrence rate for children with low executive functioning (like Cody).
At that point, as a registered Republican, conservative voter, and with no prior understanding or affiliation with any LGBT organization, I began researching medical journal articles, and aimed to determine on my own what the standard of care is for children like Cody who struggle with their gender identity (as opposed to sexual preference). I also set up appointments for evaluations with four additional doctors having varying ideologies and backgrounds (listed from most conservative in my view to most liberal): Cody's conservative psychiatrist, CHOA, Dr. Ren Massey, and Dr. Isabel Lowell.
The result of those appointments was a surprising consensus: suspend Cody's puberty with Lupron so that we can allow him time to mature and provide him with regular therapy sessions; in the meantime, begin gender-affirming behavior such as the use of affirming pronouns: he/him. These recommendations were confirmed in my own research, and the article that I felt was most helpful is this one: "They Thought It Was an Obsession": Trajectories and Perspectives of Autistic Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents," Dr. Strang, et al. (December 2018). Further research and discussion with these professionals assured that doing so would not promote the dysphoria. We are in month five (5) of administering this standard of care.
The result is a child no longer on medication for anxiety and depression. We have a new, happy child. My (rhetorical) questions to the person reading this are: At what point did I abuse my child? Why should the medical professionals at CHOA be sent to jail for providing the accepted and expected standard of medical care?
Beginning at four years of age, Cody began displaying symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), depression, and anxiety. We treated those symptoms with psychiatric care, specialized schools, and medication. I always felt like there was something else we were missing - something big. I struggled to find the root cause of the anxiety and depression and had no choice but to believe that it was a result of the ASD.
This past summer, Cody began menstruating. Two months later, Cody got his hair cut to match my husband (his father's) hair, which is kept very short. He was the happiest I have ever seen him after that haircut. He said that it felt like a whole new him. So, in jest, I asked him if he wanted me to call him by a new name. He asked to be called Conner (now Cody).
At that point, I knew something major was happening: my little girl just gave himself a boy haircut and asked to be called Conner. To me, this did not seem to be a normal "girl" reaction to getting a too-short haircut when you are just entering puberty. We have two other children who are girls, and they are "girly girls," so how can this be.
I brought Cody to his pediatrician the next day. The pediatrician met with him and diagnosed Cody with gender dysphoria: which I was told usually occurs at the onset of puberty and has a higher occurrence rate for children with low executive functioning (like Cody).
At that point, as a registered Republican, conservative voter, and with no prior understanding or affiliation with any LGBT organization, I began researching medical journal articles, and aimed to determine on my own what the standard of care is for children like Cody who struggle with their gender identity (as opposed to sexual preference). I also set up appointments for evaluations with four additional doctors having varying ideologies and backgrounds (listed from most conservative in my view to most liberal): Cody's conservative psychiatrist, CHOA, Dr. Ren Massey, and Dr. Isabel Lowell.
The result of those appointments was a surprising consensus: suspend Cody's puberty with Lupron so that we can allow him time to mature and provide him with regular therapy sessions; in the meantime, begin gender-affirming behavior such as the use of affirming pronouns: he/him. These recommendations were confirmed in my own research, and the article that I felt was most helpful is this one: "They Thought It Was an Obsession": Trajectories and Perspectives of Autistic Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents," Dr. Strang, et al. (December 2018). Further research and discussion with these professionals assured that doing so would not promote the dysphoria. We are in month five (5) of administering this standard of care.
The result is a child no longer on medication for anxiety and depression. We have a new, happy child. My (rhetorical) questions to the person reading this are: At what point did I abuse my child? Why should the medical professionals at CHOA be sent to jail for providing the accepted and expected standard of medical care?
Comments
Post a Comment