Feedback

Well, it appears that my last post was taken entirely wrong, but thanks to the feedback of some folks, I'd like to clarify...It's a shame that folks didn't have the courage to address me here, rather they chose to bully me in what I considered a "safe environment" in the form of a Facebook group. I've since left the group, since my opinion was not only unwanted, but targeted as some form of hatred. I have a right to my opinion, this is my blog, if you don't agree, move along. 

I am in NO way judging the actions of other parents in their quest to support their children. I applaud them wholeheartedly for that.

I AM however, worried that many physicians and psychologists have not had the proper experience or exposure to properly diagnose gender dysphoria (and I never said Transgender and Gender Dysphoria are interchangeable, I specifically said that GD is the terminology that's used for medical diagnosis, to reflect someone who is uncomfortable living in the body they currently own) often times we just refer to it as transgender but there is a difference.

When we first met with our Endocrinologist, he hadn't much experience with gender dysphoria. However, he did his due diligence, and in order to provide a prescription for my son, he diagnosed him with a testicular deficiency (naturally, since he didn't have testes). But he didn't immediately suggest any hormone therapy. He took time to send my son for blood work, consult with his therapist, and ultimately decided since my son had been living as a boy for over a year, that hormone therapy was the next step.

If you have read any of this blog before, you will see that I advocate for solid therapeutic treatment for a transgender person of any age, prior to hormone replacement, and I will continue to believe this is a very good thing. *(If you can't or won't commit to giving your child six or more months of therapy to sort out their feelings, regardless of whether it's gender related, then yes, I do consider you a bad parent. Don't tell me that you can't afford it, there are more than enough free counseling services available, and all children should have the support that they need regardless of their "condition".)

My concern here is mostly regarding the unscrupulous "professionals" who, like those that improperly diagnose a wide array of "conditions" like ADD, Asperger's, etc, etc. that our kids may be given a less than thorough evaluation, and less than adequate care. There seems to be a habit among physicians to hand us a "magic pill" and send us out the door these days.

I in no way intended to disparage those parents who have done their due diligence, and arrived at a happy outcome. I hope that this clarifies my position a little bit, but as I said, this is only my opinion and I'm not a medical professional, nor am I speaking for anyone else's experience but my own.

Having said that, please read on, and remember that I wish you all the best in your journeys to find the true self.