The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals

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Cleis Press, Jun 28, 2008 - Family & Relationships - 200 pages
This comprehensive first of its kind guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising their children in every city and state. Through extensive research and interviews, as well as years of experience working in the field, the authors cover gender variance from birth through college. What do you do when your toddler daughter’s first sentence is that she’s a boy? What will happen when your preschool son insists on wearing a dress to school? Is this ever just a phase? How can you explain this to your neighbors and family? How can parents advocate for their children in elementary schools? What are the current laws on the rights of transgender children? What do doctors specializing in gender variant children recommend? What do the therapists say? What advice do other families who have trans kids have? What about hormone blockers and surgery? What issues should your college-bound trans child be thinking about when selecting a school? How can I best raise my gender variant or transgender child with love and compassion, even when I barely understand the issues ahead of us? And what is gender, anyway? These questions and more are answered in this book offering a deeper understanding of gender variant and transgender children and teens.
 

Contents

Is My Child Transgender?
1
Family Acceptance From Crisis to Empowerment
39
Developmental Stages and the Transgender Child
61
Start Where You Are Moving from Damaging to Effective Parenting Practices
73
Transition Decisions When Should I Let My Child Live as Their Preferred Gender?
113
Disclosure Whom to Tell How Why and When
125
The Educational System and Your Family
153
Medical Issues for Transgender Children
193
Legal Issues to Consider
229
Conclusion
241
Who Will Be Role Models for Our Children?
245
Sample Doctors Letters
247
About the Authors
251
Copyright

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About the author (2008)

Stephanie Brill is the founder of Gender Spectrum Education and Training which provides education, resources and training to create a more gender sensitive and supportive environment for all children. She founded and runs the Children’s Hospital Oakland Support Group for parents of gender variant and transgender children and teens. She also co-produces a national conference, Gender Odyssey Family, for families with gender variant and transgender children.

Rachel Pepper is the coordinator of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies at Yale University and is an award winning journalist and editor for many publications including Curve, The Advocate, and Out magazine.

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