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aspergers and gender dysmorphia

markjulips

Hi - I have a 31year old son whom I think may have a mild form Aspergers but has never been diagnosed as it never entered our heads before my neice started having "problems" with her young son and he was diagnosed with autism (which made us do a lot of reading and research with her).  My son has an extremely high IQ and always been good at mathematics and computer programming and has always had obsessions in the past which have always fizzled out when he finds another.  He finds it extremely difficult to make friends, keep a job and has always had relationships with girls but when they end he gets depressed and suicidal.

Last year he revealed he has gender dysmorphia since having counselling sessions after when a psychologist suggested his failed relationships could be because he feels uncomfortable in his male role and I am concerned that this may be yet another obsession which will be irreversible if he does become a woman.  He has now been gioven the go-ahead to take hormones after 4 hours of specialist couselling and 1 seesion with a specialist psychiatrist.

Have any other parents been through this sort of thing or do they think I am just clutching at straws and just watch him go ahead?

Parents

  • Predictably there is nothing about this on the NAS website. Given such issues clearly arise, you would think they could be less coy about going outside the "norm".

    The only reference to Sex in their A-Z is one on sex education which accesses quite a thorough exploration of all the issues, except that it is 100% normal. Usefully they do mention sensory issues arising from touching or hugging, and reactions to things like silk or nylon.

    They do discuss inappropriate behaviour, but only in respect of a man inappropriately touching a woman or vice versa, and they do discuss the reinforcement of inappropriate actions perceived by the autistic individual as a turn on.

    They just never say anything about uncertainty about sexual identity or attraction to the same sex. 

    What's the problem here NAS? The evidence, while I agree it is not well publicised, is that people on the spectrum are four or five times more likely to have problems with sexual identity or orientation. So why duck the issue?

    What's more important here? Helping people on the spectrum? Or keeping within convention?

Reply

  • Predictably there is nothing about this on the NAS website. Given such issues clearly arise, you would think they could be less coy about going outside the "norm".

    The only reference to Sex in their A-Z is one on sex education which accesses quite a thorough exploration of all the issues, except that it is 100% normal. Usefully they do mention sensory issues arising from touching or hugging, and reactions to things like silk or nylon.

    They do discuss inappropriate behaviour, but only in respect of a man inappropriately touching a woman or vice versa, and they do discuss the reinforcement of inappropriate actions perceived by the autistic individual as a turn on.

    They just never say anything about uncertainty about sexual identity or attraction to the same sex. 

    What's the problem here NAS? The evidence, while I agree it is not well publicised, is that people on the spectrum are four or five times more likely to have problems with sexual identity or orientation. So why duck the issue?

    What's more important here? Helping people on the spectrum? Or keeping within convention?

Children
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