What's ironic is that this would actually be a good idea if it was happening somewhere that was clear that being trans and being autistic were not disorders, and that one absolutely does not invalidate the other.
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LGBT+ Liberal Democrats 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
The proposal to test trans kids for autism smacks of the politics of RFK Junior. It pathologises two groups that deserve protection by the NHS (trans kids and autistic ones) in an attempt to remove their bodily autonomy. We should all see this for what it is: something that has no place in the UK.
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This is only a problem in that Autistic people face additional barriers to accessing support for trans people & vice versa.
https://bodymindhealthcareclinic.com/news/largest-study-to-date-confirms-overlap-between-autism-and-gender-diversity
https://rtie.org/trans-facts/#kids-are-not-being-transed
I want kids to be screened early. I want them to have answers sooner than I did. This *should* improve lives.
But it's at the cost of removing gender affirming care. Or implying that because they're autistic, they have no right over their autonomy.
I wish I'd known, instead of spending 29yrs wondering what the fuck was wrong with me and like I was losing my damn mind.
Now I'm accepting it, I'm getting more support and understand myself better. I prefer this.
ie. take them out of class and chuck them into ABA 'therapy'). That sort of treatment is also a golden recipe for internalised ableism, even though it's billed as "support"
You were treated like shit. Which was wrong and I'm sorry that happened to you.
But the diagnosis isn't the problem. It's bad actors, ableism and forced conformity that hurts us. Not knowing can be just as bad, for a different reason.