Slimshandy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 11:08 am
WellPreserved wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 10:28 am
Slimshandy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 17, 2024 2:18 pm
Because taking steps to alter your brain chemistry isn’t something that should be taken lightly.
It comes with side effects, possible life long chemical changes, huge risk for medication abuse that can lead to death…
It shouldn’t be seen as run of the mill… it should be utilized only after cognitive behavioral therapy methods have been exhausted.
My son was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 4 and I was really hesitant to put him on meds. He was in multiple therapies until the age of 9 when his behavior therapist asked me point blank what was I waiting for? I immediately put him on meds and the change was amazing. I call those first five years "the lost years" and I deeply regret them.
Parents can opt for therapy instead of meds, meds instead of therapy, or a combination of the two. My personal preference would be meds in conjunction with therapy but I certainly wouldn't want my personal preference to deny another parent of the ability to make another choice. This applies specifically to ADHD meds.
There is a battery of testing - both psychological and medical as well as a 6 month period before a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. I believe that this team of professionals is more qualified to identify the needs of the child than a Chiropractor on the Nebraska legislature. I would equate it to a school requiring all students with an IEP receive 40 hours of a mandated specific therapy before implementing accommodations in the classroom.
And in the glorious US where we have to pay for healthcare, cost is a factor. Therapy sessions run $100 to $200 per hour. If you're lucky, you are insured and "only" have to pay the co-pay. Medicaid in Nebraska does not cover the cost of gender transitional care so the uninsured or those on Medicaid would have to foot the $4000-$8000 bill. Believe it or not, for many families, this is cost prohibitive. Add that cost to the fact that Nebraska is experiencing a crisis of lack of mental health professionals, it's not rocket science to see how this therapeutic mandate is causing a lack of access to transgender youth.
And as I posted above, we are talking about care that "In this prospective cohort of 104 TNB youths aged 13 to 20 years, receipt of gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones, was associated with 60% lower odds of moderate or severe depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality over a 12-month follow-up." It is literally life-saving. Comparing it to breast augmentation is disingenuous.
As someone with a son who has ADD/ADHD, and has had an IEP since first grade… I’m well aware of what a child goes through with it…
I chose not to medicate him and instead keep him in CBT . I also made sure the school and every teacher he’s ever had are aware of this, and his IEP, and they are legally required to follow the IEP… meaning none of his years at school are “lost” they are modified to fit his specific needs.
He’s now in his last years of high school and has realized that his thought process is actually a strength… he has the ability to hyperfocus, which makes his ability to write code, create apps, and go as far as attempting to invent a new kind of camera is so much more than anyone he knows, including the robotics teachers at school. And if it happens that he gets a D+ in history, then so be it.., he’s not meant to be a history teacher. He’s meant to excel in the field of technology…
As a mother of a child who identified as transgender for two years, was put into therapy with a woman who is very much gender fluid herself and super supportive for the past four years, and now identifies as non-binary, I am also very aware of the importance of therapy and pinning down the reasons the child has want for that kind of change… immediately medicating should never even be discussed among the medical community or parents with children who are finding their identity.
If the decision is made to start hormonal therapy, you are right it can be helpful beyond words… but that still doesn’t mean it should be utilized before therapy. 6 months of therapy is what even the doctors who created the standard of care suggest.
If money is an issue, then work needs to be done in the state level to ensure mental health care availability for every resident. Which is actually the status quo at the moment if parents do not make enough to cover the cost. But money being an issue is not a good enough reason to disregard the importance of therapy.
I'm glad that therapy was a good choice for your son and that he was able to meet his educational goals. I'm glad that medication relieved my son's crippling anxiety and depression and enabled him to thrive. It just goes to show that there just isn't a one size fits all when it comes to treatment for ADHD.
A diagnosis of gender dysphoria requires an evaluation across multiple disciplines as it should. Symptoms of gender dysphoria must be exhibited for at least 6 months, as they should. Various therapies are recommended/required depending on each individual child, as they should. The state of Nebraska is now implementing rules that a specific type of therapy be required for a minimum of 40 sessions. Again, IMO, this is excessive. What was "broken" that the state needed to "fix"?
Money is an issue, at least in Nebraska who has decided that mental health care of children with gender dysphoria should not be covered. They are mandating hours of a specific therapy (whether determined that a child needs it or not) and stating that state funds are not going to pay for that therapy. That pisses me off. I don't say that because I dislike the idea of therapy - all three members of my family have been and currently are in therapy to address a variety of issues. I say this as someone who has always been free to choose the type of therapy that my child needs with advice from his "team" rather than having it dictated by the state.
For example, if my son were currently in the state of Nebraska, was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and suffered from anxiety, it"s most likely that his team would recommend specific therapy to deal with anxiety. That would be appropriate. However, in Nebraska, treatment of anxiety due to gender dysphoria must be secondary to "gender-identity-focused" therapy so would not necessarily "count" toward the 40 hour requirement. Again, IMO, requiring therapists to determine how much time to spend on specific aspects of therapy is not good care nor is it individualized care which is what all children need, even those with gender dysphoria. Frankly, I believe that Nebraska has implemented this specialized therapy so that they don't have to pay. If my child were seeking therapy specifically for anxiety, regardless of the reasons, Nebraska medicaid would pay for it if I had no coverage or my insurance didn't pay. But if I'm seeking gender-identity-focused therapy, even if care for anxiety is included in that therapy, Nebraska won't pay. Leave it to the right to be calculating, and while framed as best interest of the child, it's not. It's in the best financial interest of Nebraska and screw the child, their parents, and their therapists simply because they are seen as being uugy.
"The books that the world calls immoral are books that show its own shame." - Oscar Wilde
