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What is the youngest age to transition?
Medical Transition Starting at the first signs of the changes — around 10 years old for girls, and 11 for boys — doctors can prescribe hormone blockers, which are injections or implants that keep the body from releasing estrogen or testosterone.
How can I help my trans child?
Connolly offers six strategies to support your transgender teen:
- Don’t panic. First, it’s going to be okay.
- Encourage exploration. Gender exploration is a normal part of development.
- Get educated.
- Create a safe place for discussion.
- Allow yourself time to transition.
- Get help.
Can gender dysphoria happen at any age?
Gender dysphoria and/or coming out as transgender can occur at any age. The DSM-5* distinguishes between Gender Dysphoria in Childhood for those who experience Gender Dysphoria before puberty. The diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents and Adults can occur at any age.
How is dysphoria treated?
Medical treatment of gender dysphoria might include:
- Hormone therapy, such as feminizing hormone therapy or masculinizing hormone therapy.
- Surgery, such as feminizing surgery or masculinizing surgery to change the breasts or chest, external genitalia, internal genitalia, facial features, and body contouring.
At what age can a child choose their gender?
Most children typically develop the ability to recognize and label stereotypical gender groups, such as girl, woman and feminine, and boy, man and masculine, between ages 18 and 24 months. Most also categorize their own gender by age 3 years.
Is it normal for a 3 year old boy to want to be a girl?
Young children don’t usually understand the difference between “Boy” and “Girl” as a gender until around 5–6 years of age. It’s normal for children to sometimes say that they want to be the opposite sex. This does not mean that they are transgender though.
How can I Help my Child Transition to the other gender?
If your child definitely wants to eventually transition to the other gender, and their care team agree, then they can choose to suppress puberty with hormone blockers. This is still completely reversible, so if they change their minds, they can stop taking the hormone blockers and puberty will commence as usual.
Is there a “long coming-in period” for transgender people?
I’ve learned from therapists who work with transgender youth and adults that there is typically a long coming-in period before transgender people come out to anyone else. When a person comes out to a loved one, whether it’s to a parent or a spouse of thirty years, a lot of thought has typically gone into it.
Are all transgender people alike?
After many hours spent in transgender support groups and advocacy programs, I have discovered that no two transgender people are alike. They didn’t choose to be transgender. It just happens to be one aspect of their multifaceted, complex identities. There’s only one common factor that I’ve discovered.
Can my child make a permanent change to the other gender?
If your child is sure they want to make a permanent change to be the other gender, the fact that they’ve had their natural puberty suppressed makes the transition much easier, especially if your child wants to transition from male to female.