1. A Clinical Program for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Neurodiverse/Autistic Adolescents Developed through Community-Based Participatory Design
- Author
-
John Thomas, Anna I. R. van der Miesen, Veronica Gomez-Lobo, Harriette Wimms, Joshua Tobing, Aron Janssen, Laura Russell, Lauren Kenworthy, Dena Gohari, Megan Knauss, Anouk Balleur, Meredith D. Powers, Jenifer K. McGuire, John F. Strang, Zosia Zaks, Andrew J. Freeman, Laura Gutermuth Anthony, Marissa A. McCool, Laura Kirby, Julie Austen, Elyse Pine, D. W. Rowlands, Colleen Morgan, Shannon E. Wyss, Abigail Brandt, April D. Griffin, Eleonora Sadikova, Ely Sibarium, Noor Pervez, Randall D. Ehrbar, Reid Caplan, Haley Meagher, Laura Willing, APH - Mental Health, and Pediatric surgery
- Subjects
Community based ,Adolescent ,05 social sciences ,Gender Identity ,medicine.disease ,Transgender Persons ,Developmental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Clinical Psychology ,0302 clinical medicine ,Participatory design ,Transgender ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,medicine ,Humans ,Autism ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Autistic Disorder ,Psychology ,human activities ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,050104 developmental & child psychology - Abstract
Objective: A series of studies report elevated rates of autism and autistic characteristics among gender-diverse youth seeking gender services. Although youth with the co-occurrence present with complex care needs, existing studies have focused on co-occurrence rates. Further, clinical commentaries have emphasized provider-centered interpretations of clinical needs rather than key stakeholder-driven clinical approaches. This study aimed to employ community-based participatory research methodologies to develop a key stakeholder-driven clinical group program. Method: Autistic/neurodiverse gender-diverse (A/ND-GD) youth (N = 31), parents of A/ND-GD youth (N = 46), A/ND-GD self-advocates (N = 10), and expert clinical providers (N = 10) participated in a multi-stage community-based participatory procedure. Needs assessment data were collected repeatedly over time from A/ND-GD youth and their parents as the youth interacted with one another through ongoing clinical groups, the curriculum of which was developed progressively through the iterative needs assessments. Results: Separate adolescent and parent needs assessments revealed key priorities for youth (e.g., the importance of connecting with other A/ND-GD youth and the benefit of experiencing a range of gender-diverse role models to make gender exploration and/or gender affirmation more concrete) and parents (e.g., the need for A/ND-related supports for their children as well as provision of an A/ND-friendly environment that fosters exploration of a range of gender expressions/options). Integration and translation of youth and parent priorities resulted in 11 novel clinical techniques for this population. Conclusions: With generally high acceptability ratings for each component of the group program, this study presents a community-driven clinical model to support broad care needs and preferences of A/ND-GD adolescents.
- Published
- 2021