Thread by @genspect

ATTN US PARENTS-RE: SOCIAL TRANSITION in school without your consent: Here is a helpful summary of points from an Expert Affidavit by @eanderh, a former USPATH President & WPATH board member, clinical psychologist & open transwoman who works with trans-identified youth. THREAD ⤵️

" A summary of my opinion is as follows:
a/ A child or adolescent who exhibits a desire to change name and pronouns should receive a careful professional assessment prior to transitioning.

b/ A request to change name and pronouns may be the first visible sign that the child or adolescent may be dealing with gender dysphoria or related coexisting mental-health issues.

c/ A child or adolescent’s experience of gender incongruence may be influenced by societal or cultural factors and may or may not persist.

d/ A careful assessment by professionals prior to transitioning is critical to understand the causes of the child’s or adolescent’s feelings of gender - incongruence, the likelihood that those feelings will persist, to provide guidance about the implications of any kind...

...of transition, to diagnose and treat any gender dysphoria or coexisting conditions, and to provide ongoing support during any transition.

e/ Social transition itself is an impactful psychotherapeutic intervention that has the potential to increase the likelihood of persistence of gender incongruence. Transitioning socially can also be psychologically hard to reverse for a child or adolescent.

f/ For some children experiencing gender incongruence, social transition is not the best approach. Some cease desiring to transition after an exploratory process and/or therapy to understand the source of their feelings, and some who do transition later come to regret it.

g/ Social transition often leads to other medical interventions later in life, some of which are irreversible.

h/ No professional medical association that I am aware of recommends social transition of children and adolescents without a careful assessment and treatment plan.

i/ Parental involvement is necessary to obtain professional assistance for a child or adolescent experiencing gender incongruence, to provide accurate diagnosis, and to treat any gender dysphoria or other coexisting conditions.

j/ A school-facilitated transition without parental consent interferes with parents’ ability to pursue a careful assessment and/or therapeutic approach prior to transitioning, prevents parents from making the decision about whether a transition will be best for their child,...

...and creates unnecessary tension in the parent-child relationship.

k/ No professional medical association that I am aware of recommends that school officials facilitate the social transition of a child or adolescent without parental knowledge and consent. / end

Case: Wisconsin parents B.F., T.F., P.W. & S.W. vs Kettle Moraine School District, Wisconsin. Date: Feb 3, 2023. Read the entire affidavit here: will-law.org/wp-content/upl…