Gender Diversity Expert, Parent Whisperer & Speaker
Resources
The Trevor Project provides support and guidance for trans youth and their families, along with maintaining statistics related to trans youth and their specific mental health needs.
The Safe Zone Project provide resources for anyone to explore their concept of gender, gender roles and various forms of gender expression.
Rebecca Minor, a gender specialist, therapist, and DEI consultant in Boston Metrowest area, developed this resource page for parents of trans youth: https://www.genderspecialist.com/transteens
Greater Boston PFLAG provides support groups, as well as 1:1 support to parents or other family members of the LGBTQIA+ community. PFLAG is a national organization with chapters throughout the country.
What is gender-affirming care? This excerpt is taken from my blog, Society is my Problem; NOT my Kid.
“Gender-affirming care, as defined by the World Health Organization, includes medical and non-medical interventions that support an individual’s gender identity when that identity conflicts with the gender they were assigned at birth. Three of the United States’ major medical associations and lobbying groups all publicly support gender-affirming care.
The American Medical Association (AMA) “believes that gender-affirming care is medically necessary and improves the physical and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse people.” In June 2023, the AMA passed a resolution to “oppose any and all criminal and other legal penalties’ for patients and their families attempting to access gender-affirming medical care; to protect doctors from physical and legal threats that arise from providing such care; and to ‘advocate against state and federal legislation that would prohibit or limit gender-affirming care.”
In August 2023, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reaffirmed its support for gender-affirming care for transgender youth including recommendations for the establishment of Federal protections of gender-affirming care, as well as advocating as an organization for gender-affirming care as a human right.​
Finally, The American Psychiatric Association (APA) supports gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse individuals and their families. A 2022 study led by the APA found that individuals who received gender-affirming care had a lowered risk of depression and suicidality for a 12-month period following treatment."
Trans Teen and Family Narratives (TTFN) Project is a toolkit for family members or mental health providers to use with trans youth. It contains videos of trans youth, discussion guides and resources to support a young person’s gender journey. The development of TTFN was led by Dr. Sabra L. Katz-Wise (she/her), an Associate Professor in Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Katz-Wise also co-directs the Harvard SOGIE Health Equity Research Collaborative. Dr. Katz-Wise and her team are based at Boston Children’s Hospital.
GLAAD’s Here We Are Now campaign, launched during PRIDE 2024, aims to increase trans visibility and address the 70% of Americans who say they don’t know anyone who is trans through video stories of a handful of trans individuals.
Erin Reed is a trans woman, public speaker, activist and journalist who provides regular updates about legislative and public events impacting the trans community. She maintains tabs on legislative acts throughout the US, as well as worldwide. Her social handle is @erininthemorn.
Queer Family Podcast, created and hosted by actress and lesbian mom, Jaimie Kelton, "humorously explores the age-old question: What's it like to live as an LGBTQ family in a world built for the straights? The mission is to normalize, elevate and celebrate, while confirming that we're just like other parents, trying not to yell at our kids when they still haven't put their shoes on and we're 25 minutes late for school.”
On an episode of Focus Forward: An Executive Function Podcast, host Hannah Choi and I talked about managing major life transitions from an emotionally-supported framework. We demystified meditation with an exercise that anybody can do to be more mindful. And, we outlined ways parents and adults alike can support themselves and their loved ones through times of change.
Counting Down from 5 is a grounding strategy that anybody can use when feeling overwhelmed emotionally.
The 3 buckets are a decision-making device parents can use to determine how best to respond to their child's behavior.
Good Inside podcast by Dr. Becky Kennedy offers practical, attachment-based, and mindful tools for every imaginable parenting challenge. Dr. Becky is a clinical psychologist, mom and founder of Good Inside.