As more transgender children seek medical care, families confront many unknowns

Record ID: 1692155

  • Title: As more transgender children seek medical care, families confront many unknowns
  • Date: 6th October 2022
  • Summary: BELPRE, OHIO, UNITED STATES (FILE – MAY 29, 2022) (REUTERS) 14-YEAR-OLD RYACE BOYER PUTTING ON MAKEUP BELPRE, OHIO, UNITED STATES (FILE – MAY 28, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RYACE SITTING ON HER BED, PLAYING WITH PHONE BELPRE, OHIO, UNITED STATES (FILE – MAY 29, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 14-YEAR-OLD RYACE BOYER SAYING: “I’m Ryace Boyer. I am 14-years-o
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2022 11:30
  • Keywords: body endocrinologist gender-affirming care identity medicine psychological benefits puberty transyouth treatments youth in transition
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Human-Led Feature,Human-Led Stories,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA001992204102022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ryace (pronounced RYE-us) Boyer was assigned male at birth, but by the time she was 4, it was clear to her parents that she identified as a girl.
    “I always liked dressing up, but I was never allowed to wear girly things in public, like a lot of Cinderella dresses. And I knew whenever I got home, I could do it, but I wanted to wear them out in public so bad,” Ryace said.
    When she started middle school, she grew increasingly anxious about what puberty would bring: facial hair, an Adam’s apple, a deeper voice. That’s when her mother Danielle sought help at Akron Children’s Hospital and its new gender clinic, where staff told her they could treat Ryace with puberty-blocking drugs and sex hormones to help her transition.
    “I knew that she really needed to be who she was and to change. So, we went there, and they really helped us,” Danielle Boyer said.
    The United States has seen an explosion in recent years in the number of children who identify as a gender different from what they were designated at birth. Thousands of families like the Boyers are weighing profound choices in an emerging field of medicine as they pursue what is called gender-affirming care for their children. And the number of gender clinics treating children in the United States has grown from zero to more than 100 in the past 15 years.
    Pediatric endocrinologist Kara Connelly works at one of those clinics. She is the Medical Director at Oregon Health and Science University’s Doernbecher Gender Clinic in suburban Portland.
    “We affirm every young person's gender identity, and that doesn't mean that we're going to prescribe medications for everybody, but we want to support them in their gender identity at that moment in time,” she said. “Many young people will come in looking for mental health support or family support. Many will come in looking for non-medical interventions like voice therapy or chest binders, clothing recommendations. And then many of them are asking about medications.”
    16-year-old Ethan S. and his mother came to Connelly’s clinic to discuss testosterone therapy earlier this year.
    But strong evidence of the efficacy and possible long-term consequences of medical treatment remain scant.
    Puberty blockers and sex hormones do not have U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for children’s gender care. No clinical trials have established their safety for such off-label use. The drugs’ long-term effects on fertility and sexual function remain unclear.
    Dr. Connelly says she focuses on what is known. “There is research that shows the significant psychological benefit to these treatments. And so, we're weighing that, what we do know about the benefits, and, against the potential unknowns about some of the risks,” she said, adding that when a young person’s body starts to change early in puberty, it can cause “really profound distress.”
    Overall, Ryace appears unfazed by the long-term implications of treatment. And in hindsight, she forgives her mother for making her conceal her identity for so long. “It wasn’t really protecting me. it was hurting more and more,” she said.
    (Production: Megan Jelinger, Lindsey Wasson, Christine Kiernan)
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