>Are you saying that the gender dysphoria self-diagnosis was the only factor in the suicide, and without it the mental health problems and difficulties of being neurodivergent in society wouldn't have been an issue?

No, not at all.

I think the real reason that so may Autistic people end up depressed, anxious and suicidal is a mix of social difficulties (leading to isolation), coupled with an inability to recognise our own emotional states (making self-care a lot more difficult).

The real problem in misdiagosis of gender dysphoria amongst Autistics isn't so much the additional stress caused by transitioning (not just medical issues, but things like the discrimination that non-passing trans people experience too) but the fact that it provides a false solution to the problem of our depression/anxiety.

So many young Autistics really, genuinely, believe that the solution to their problem isn't learning the hard way how to achieve a certain level of social success, or ceding some of their independence to people they trust to help manage their physical and emotional needs, but instead hormones and surgery.

And once someone's gone down that path, that's it. No coming back.

It may be reassuring to know that most early and mid-stage trans care interventions are fully reversible, other than surgery and some more powerful forms of HRT. Surgery is pretty late on the road and many people never get surgery. So you don't need to be worried if someone you care about starts seeing a specialist about gender concerns, since at least for quite a few months, nothing serious is going to happen.

For younger people it's often preferred to use fully reversible blockers that don't even nudge someone along the transition path, which further reduces the risk of any kind of long-term regret.

> For younger people it's often preferred to use fully reversible blockers that don't even nudge someone along the transition path

Blockers are fully reversible in the medical sense only. As in if you stop taking them, the hormones go back to normal levels.

They are NOT reversible in how the general public uses the word. As in carching up with the missed out puberty.

So, no, it isn't fully reversible despite what a lot of people want you to believe.

Once blockers are suspended they will go through puberty. I'm not sure what other definition of "reversible" you think would be possible here, some sort of accelerated catch-up puberty? That would be incredibly traumatic and possibly harmful.

Keep in mind that blockers can be prescribed for reasons other than transgender identity, do you think that should be prohibited too?

Many advocates are essentially saying it moves the age range for puberty to a later range. As in "just delaying it"

And it makes no sense to me to ban the prescribing for what the medicine was actually developed for, too early puberty.

Also, why is it that almost always when I voice my dislike for puberty blockers as a form of trans treatment there is the "counter argument" that I want it blocked for all purposes? Just because I dislike one use of it, doesnt mean I dislike all uses.

The reason "do you want it blocked for all purposes" comes up is because when blockers are being prescribed as part of gender care, the purpose of the blocker is to prevent irreversible potential harm to the child. Your argument is that the blockers themselves somehow inflict irreversible harm - this is possible, to be clear, but as yet I've not seen it proven - and if that were so, it would make sense to always prohibit them unless the advantage seriously outweighs the irreversible harm inflicted by the blockers, no? The blockers are far more reversible by any standard than allowing the trans child to go through a puberty they view as traumatic, because that is irreversible by almost any measure I can think of.

Some people probably are just fully resistant to the idea that blockers shouldn't be used. I think guardrails are appropriate, but it's quite common to see people oppose a given treatment in gender care when it is freely used in other - often quite similar - circumstances and the opposition is ultimately rooted in discomfort with gender care and not based on any unusual or serious proven harms.

In the end a lot of this is between the child, their parents, and their physicians. It doesn't matter much how we feel about it as uninvolved individuals as long as safety processes are being followed and there's appropriate consent.

A good point of comparison for blockers, IMO, would be Spironolactone - frequently prescribed for trans HRT and other forms of gender care, but also used on-label for other purposes. This drug has lots of very inconvenient side effects, people dislike it, and it can in some cases cause serious harm due to the side effects. You could argue that it shouldn't be prescribed for any purposes due to those side effects, but at that point, you have to weigh one harm against another. Physicians have generally decided it's worth it.

Honestly, that's not hugely reassuring in the context of what I was talking about.

The problem isn't the medical effects but the fact that the certainty a misdiagnosis brings blocks people with mental health issues from actually treating the root of the problem. And this decision, practically speaking, isn't reversible. Once someone on the spectrum decides to go down this path, there's no stopping them.

If you have an Autistic kid and they're asking questions about gender, you should absolutely be worried. Hell, I'd be worried about an Autistic 25 year-old.

Misdiagnosis are common when trying to get treated for almost any medical issue, because humans are not orderly, rational machines with well defined inputs and outputs. Gender issues are perhaps an easier one to look at and go "I'm pretty sure you got it wrong, doc" because you can look at someone and instinctively think "that's a man" or "that's a woman". But whether it's back pain that's actually caused by an incredibly rare knee cancer or a doctor misdiagnosing the cause of an ultimately harmless migraine, you run the risk of this any time you go to a physician. I've personally lost people I care about to misdiagnosis but it's still just a fact that I decide to accept: Physicians may try hard, but they're not perfect.

If a problem isn't severe, that might be a reason to avoid medical intervention so you don't take on that risk. But if you're really struggling to cope or it seems like you might have a serious problem, you should probably see a doctor. If their diagnosis makes you ask more questions, get a second opinion, or a third one!

Similarly, basically any surgery has the risk of complications, and lots of interventions we perform on a regular basis have a small but real risk of harm. It's something that comes with medicine, and overall, people live longer and happier lives because medicine usually works out. I postponed wisdom teeth extraction for years because the first dentist I saw about it put the fear of god into me about the terrifying risks of anesthesia, and ended up regretting it because they had to come out eventually anyway. But if I had been that rare statistic to die from anesthesia, maybe it would've been the right choice? I lean towards no, personally.

As far as blocking people from treating the root of the problem - while this is a real issue, if the secondary problem is seriously lowering someone's quality of life, there's something to be said for stopping the bleeding (so to speak) long enough to start working on everything else that's causing issues. It's a matter of triage - sometimes root causes simply cannot be dealt with fast enough to postpone dealing with everything else. A non-surgical gender intervention like blockers to get someone onto stable footing for a year or two could be a great step in order to refocus on everything else, and maybe at the end of that time they decide they don't need meds or surgery.

What the fuck? I'm autistic and I knew at 15 that something was up with my gender. This is a monstrous opinion.

On the contrary, it's becoming common among doctors to make a 180 on the subject. It was a major scandal in Sweden last year when several who had transitioned went to the news and attacked the doctors for allowing them to go through with it. As a result, transition at a young age seem to have been stopped. Because the science is lacking, it's heavily associated with health issues, you'll need treatment for the rest of your life and you can't go back.