When parents disagree about gender non-conforming child

What happens in a situation where parents disagree about a gender-nonconforming child? Medical director for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital LA, gives solutions for parents in all different types of circumstances.
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When parents disagree about gender non-conforming child

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When parents are on different pages, or they have disagreements about how to move forward with their gender non-conforming child, it presents a difficult problem for us, as providers, and also for the young person. The child does not want to be put in a position where they’re needing to take sides, or where, for example, they have to behave one way with one parent, and another way with another parent. That’s very difficult for a child to manage and negotiate through. If the parents are married, and they’re still together, and they are on different pages, we have a better opportunity and a better chance of bringing them together in stressing the importance of supporting their child in their authentic self. That’s one of the advantages of having a reversible intervention early on that we can offer to young people, because again, it’s not causing any lasting changes to that young person’s body, but it allows us to work with that family and help both parents understand the necessity of acknowledging this gender that their child has. If parents are divorced, there become problems, because both parents, if they maintain medical custody, need to give approval for moving forward with any medications. So we have to do a lot of work with our therapists, and with that other person. And the truth is that there are tragic situations where young people cannot pursue therapy until they’re of age, at eighteen.

What happens in a situation where parents disagree about a gender-nonconforming child? Medical director for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital LA, gives solutions for parents in all different types of circumstances.

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Johanna Olson, MD

Medical Director, Center for Transyouth Health and Development, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Johanna Olson, MD is a pediatrician in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Medical Director of the hospital’s Center for Transyouth Health and Development.  She specializes in the care of transgender youth, gender variant children, youth with HIV, and chronic pain. Board certified in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Dr. Olson is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. She has appeared on ABC's 20/20, The Dr. Phil Show, CNN, Dateline NBC and The Doctors to educate audiences about the needs of transgender youth.

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