Common Intersection of Autism and Gender Diversity in Youth: Clinical Perspectives and Practices

Authors

John F. Strang, Gender and Autism Program, Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology, Children's National Hospital, 15245 Shady Grove Suite 350, Rockville, MD 20850, USA; Center for Neuroscience, Children's National Research Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA; Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA. Electronic address: jstrang@childrensnational.org.
Anna I. van der Miesen, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Location Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Abigail L. Fischbach, Gender and Autism Program, Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology, Children's National Hospital, 15245 Shady Grove Suite 350, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
Milana Wolff, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.
Marvel C. Harris, Private Consultant, Hilversum, the Netherlands.
Sascha E. Klomp, Private Consultant, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

10-1-2023

Journal

Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America

Volume

32

Issue

4

DOI

10.1016/j.chc.2023.06.001

Keywords

Autism; Autistic; Gender diverse; Gender dysphoria; Gender incongruence; Neurodivergence; Nonbinary; Transgender

Abstract

Autism and gender diversity often intersect. Many transgender youth seeking gender-related medical interventions are autistic. Clinicians serving these youth lack an autism-specific evidence base to guide gender care decisions. At present, care decisions are based on extrapolation of care models from transgender youth samples, generally. At this point, there is no evidence to suggest that autistic youth are likely to experience shifts in gender or gender-related medical requests, although this has been insufficiently studied. In this article, cowritten by expert clinicians and autistic gender-diverse collaborators, an overview of clinical care considerations and the current evidence base is provided.

APA Citation

Strang, John F.; van der Miesen, Anna I.; Fischbach, Abigail L.; Wolff, Milana; Harris, Marvel C.; and Klomp, Sascha E., "Common Intersection of Autism and Gender Diversity in Youth: Clinical Perspectives and Practices" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 3684.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/3684

Department

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences