We were four months into living in a new house, in a different county known for good schools. We had moved partly for this reason and honestly for a nicer house. Our son had just turned 15 and we were sitting in the living room one day when he said, “I think I might be Trans.” I just remember thinking this was kind of familiar. Our daughter had told us she was bisexual at 13, although it ended up being a phase and life went on as usual.
Washington State just voted SB 5599 into law. The law allows the State of Washington to remove trans identifying minor children from homes of non gender affirming parents and for the state to proceed with "gender affirming" care despite objections from one or both parents. All Republicans voted against this. All Democrats voted for it. Democrat Senator Marko Liias is proclaiming the passage of SB 5599 as a win for children and Democrats of Washington State.
So happy for you! My stepdaughter had a bit of a struggle; she decided she was gay; she is also on the autistic spectrum. Because of her Christian upbringing, she finally turned back by asking her dad for a couple of Bibles. She's in her early 20s and is doing much better.
Glad to hear you're making progress! Hope things continue to go in a good direction for all of you. For you and everyone who isn't already familiar with Jennifer Bilek, I recommend this interesting talk/summary on who's funding the trans agenda. here is link:
I am finishing reading The End of Gender and the author mentioned boys that like working with computers are more drawn to the idea of being trans. It was an interesting book. I have seen this myself in my son that went into computer engineering. He did not have male friends and his female best friend sucked him into gender questioning. Thankfully he was homeschooled and deeply rooted in Christ. I only found out many months later he had tried out a different name. So much of his struggles were depression and social anxiety and it has gotten better the older he gets. I think the teenage hormones make everything feel permanent and SO much worse.
A common theme with parents here is about how the behavior of the kids change, angry at the whole world once they rebirth themselves as trans. If it was actually a true belief wouldn't they feel happier?
My daughter will tell me with a straight face that she’s “happier than she’s ever been”, even though it’s obvious to everyone that at the same time she decided to transition she became extremely depressed, was harming herself, dropped all previous activities and interests, isolated herself from the family, had almost no real life friends, and went from having a very close relationship with her parents to being angry and avoiding us. If I point all that out she tells me I can’t tell her what she feels, she knows better than anyone how she feels.
This is absolutely true. He was incredibly angry and mean to all of us during that time. Even though I didn’t know he was experimenting with a different identity, I knew he was in a very dark place emotionally.
Our son also very angry when he first told us and we didn’t throw a parade/party. He has come around now. It’s been almost a year. But we have a good relationship again.
Thank you for sharing! 🤗 May I ask who your sons therapist is? This counselor is exactly what I am seeking for my autistic daughter. I have searched the GETA site but they do not list anyone in my state (TN) so I’m hoping maybe I can at least find someone similar that does virtual sessions.
Hi, I’d look through the contact details for all on the GETA list that are within a reasonable time zone. Most do virtual these days and will say so on their websites. Contact as many as are suitable and cross your fingers one has capacity to take you daughter on. 🙂
Here's a bit of hope from a similar quarter. I work as a volunteer in a church. One of the new volunteers is a teenager, 15, maybe 16 years old. After hearing my typical greeting to the other volunteers: "hello ladies!" (yes, we're all women), she came over and corrected me. I'm not a lady, she said. Please don't call me that. I thought, oh boy, here we go, but I just shrugged and said OK. She was so pleased she smiled for the first time. At that moment, she looked like the child that she is. Poor thing, I wondered what it took for her to make that pronouncement.
Fast forward two months. Last week, she had on gold hoop earrings. Could it be? And yesterday, she was wearing a feminine v-neck blouse with puffy sleeves. There was even a hint of -- dare I say it? -- cleavage. And there was a change in her demeanor. Not surly and withdrawn, but cheerful and friendly, as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. I don't think I'm imagining things. Time will tell.
“Imagine there was a sudden 4,000% increase in teens identifying as amputees…Such a world would obviously be mad, yet our reality is far worse. Teens are being allowed to sacrifice their health, fertility, and future chance of intimacy”
This sounds promising and gives us hope. My daughter is 17 now and I’m worried that, although things don’t seem to have escalated, she might just be biding her time until she’s 18. We want to find her an appropriate therapist but she won’t speak to anyone on line and it’s proving impossible to find anyone local who is suitable. (ie that we can be sure won’t be affirming). We live near Manchester, England. If anyone out there has any advice, I’d be grateful.
I assume you've contacted Stella O'Malley at Genspect? She's the only one I can think of in your general vicinity, more or less, and she has a wide reach.
What's striking about all these stories is how profoundly lonely all these kids are. I grew up in a packed house and was inseparable from my group of friends in high school. I also had a ton of hobbies. These kids don't do anything. It's always the same. They are awkward, they are autistic, they play video games, and then all of a sudden they're talking to a chat group of groomers on reddit who convince them that they're actually a wrongly ensouled body.
And of course COVID plays a role here. I try not to despair at the future, but the fact that we see more outrage from young people over things that affect them little to not at all (the NRA, "systemic racism"), while uttering not a peep about the incalculable harm that was done to them over the last few years . . . it's disheartening. I fear whatever remained of the Spirit of '76 is well and truly dead, and America is careening toward a gray, gay, totalitarian nightmare.
Yes, kids are so lonely today! I was an out-of-touch kid with few social skills, but I'd sit with the other lonely kids at lunch, and slowly built my skills and a friendship network. When my daughter went to high school, all the socially awkward kids were on their phones or laptops all the time, there was just nobody to talk with. She's doing much better in college, developing a sense of herself and social skills, but modern high schools too often are very exclusionary.
What's funny is the inversion of stereotypes I've witnessed. When I was a kid, it was the home-schooled kids who were seen as weird and socially awkward, whereas now whenever I meet a non-traditionally schooled child they are way more able to have a conversation etc than the mindless zombies that fill up our public schools.
I've noticed that all of the home-schooled kids I've encountered have been more academically advanced, more mature, and more socially comfortable with adults than their public-schooled peers.
Yeah man I remember meeting a class of them in my neighbor's makeshift schoolhouse and I was shocked at how much cooler they were than "normal" kids: conscientious, mature, able to look you in the eye when they speak, NOT ON THEIR PHONE
Thank you for sharing your story. It amazes me how the stories of our son’s are so similar. Boys are getting so caught up in this more and more. My son is in 11th grade and knows we don’t approve of hormones. He is now asking me for licorice root tea. My guess is that he must have researched somewhere that this can substitute for hormones. Best wishes to everyone caught up in this. I pray for an end to this soon.
My gosh. How much this sounds like our story! 💜💜
Washington State just voted SB 5599 into law. The law allows the State of Washington to remove trans identifying minor children from homes of non gender affirming parents and for the state to proceed with "gender affirming" care despite objections from one or both parents. All Republicans voted against this. All Democrats voted for it. Democrat Senator Marko Liias is proclaiming the passage of SB 5599 as a win for children and Democrats of Washington State.
Katie Daviscourt is a Seattle based journalist.
https://twitter.com/KatieDaviscourt/status/1646529419782283274
Horrifying.
I have a son too, and share these what ifs with you. I only wish I had your same sense of zen. Working toward that....
I have the same what ifs!
Still in watchful waiting and scared all the time
I think about 75% of the problem is that kids are so obsessed with the subject of "Identity" now.
I remember that starting in school. I worked in schools so remember it all beginning. Ugh. If only we'd have known then, what we know now.
It doesn't help that GI is preached in school.
It’s the thing the have chosen to rebel against.
And mercenary pharma & medicine take advantage
So happy for you! My stepdaughter had a bit of a struggle; she decided she was gay; she is also on the autistic spectrum. Because of her Christian upbringing, she finally turned back by asking her dad for a couple of Bibles. She's in her early 20s and is doing much better.
Glad to hear you're making progress! Hope things continue to go in a good direction for all of you. For you and everyone who isn't already familiar with Jennifer Bilek, I recommend this interesting talk/summary on who's funding the trans agenda. here is link:
https://youtu.be/tLXdoqXbC6k
It seems like the gender industry is targeting kids with autism.
I am finishing reading The End of Gender and the author mentioned boys that like working with computers are more drawn to the idea of being trans. It was an interesting book. I have seen this myself in my son that went into computer engineering. He did not have male friends and his female best friend sucked him into gender questioning. Thankfully he was homeschooled and deeply rooted in Christ. I only found out many months later he had tried out a different name. So much of his struggles were depression and social anxiety and it has gotten better the older he gets. I think the teenage hormones make everything feel permanent and SO much worse.
A common theme with parents here is about how the behavior of the kids change, angry at the whole world once they rebirth themselves as trans. If it was actually a true belief wouldn't they feel happier?
My daughter will tell me with a straight face that she’s “happier than she’s ever been”, even though it’s obvious to everyone that at the same time she decided to transition she became extremely depressed, was harming herself, dropped all previous activities and interests, isolated herself from the family, had almost no real life friends, and went from having a very close relationship with her parents to being angry and avoiding us. If I point all that out she tells me I can’t tell her what she feels, she knows better than anyone how she feels.
This is absolutely true. He was incredibly angry and mean to all of us during that time. Even though I didn’t know he was experimenting with a different identity, I knew he was in a very dark place emotionally.
Our son also very angry when he first told us and we didn’t throw a parade/party. He has come around now. It’s been almost a year. But we have a good relationship again.
Thank you for sharing! 🤗 May I ask who your sons therapist is? This counselor is exactly what I am seeking for my autistic daughter. I have searched the GETA site but they do not list anyone in my state (TN) so I’m hoping maybe I can at least find someone similar that does virtual sessions.
Hi, I’d look through the contact details for all on the GETA list that are within a reasonable time zone. Most do virtual these days and will say so on their websites. Contact as many as are suitable and cross your fingers one has capacity to take you daughter on. 🙂
Thank you so much ❤️
Oh, sorry, he is only in my state. I hope somebody comes through for you, here in the comments section.
I love when the story has rays of hope in it.
Here's a bit of hope from a similar quarter. I work as a volunteer in a church. One of the new volunteers is a teenager, 15, maybe 16 years old. After hearing my typical greeting to the other volunteers: "hello ladies!" (yes, we're all women), she came over and corrected me. I'm not a lady, she said. Please don't call me that. I thought, oh boy, here we go, but I just shrugged and said OK. She was so pleased she smiled for the first time. At that moment, she looked like the child that she is. Poor thing, I wondered what it took for her to make that pronouncement.
Fast forward two months. Last week, she had on gold hoop earrings. Could it be? And yesterday, she was wearing a feminine v-neck blouse with puffy sleeves. There was even a hint of -- dare I say it? -- cleavage. And there was a change in her demeanor. Not surly and withdrawn, but cheerful and friendly, as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. I don't think I'm imagining things. Time will tell.
Michael Shellenberger
@ShellenbergerMD
“Imagine there was a sudden 4,000% increase in teens identifying as amputees…Such a world would obviously be mad, yet our reality is far worse. Teens are being allowed to sacrifice their health, fertility, and future chance of intimacy”
Amputee is already a thing. Look for it in WPATH’s next Standards of “Care.”
Thank you for sharing. Familiar patterns emerge. That allows for timely correction.
This sounds promising and gives us hope. My daughter is 17 now and I’m worried that, although things don’t seem to have escalated, she might just be biding her time until she’s 18. We want to find her an appropriate therapist but she won’t speak to anyone on line and it’s proving impossible to find anyone local who is suitable. (ie that we can be sure won’t be affirming). We live near Manchester, England. If anyone out there has any advice, I’d be grateful.
I assume you've contacted Stella O'Malley at Genspect? She's the only one I can think of in your general vicinity, more or less, and she has a wide reach.
Thank you. I’ll do that. :)
What's striking about all these stories is how profoundly lonely all these kids are. I grew up in a packed house and was inseparable from my group of friends in high school. I also had a ton of hobbies. These kids don't do anything. It's always the same. They are awkward, they are autistic, they play video games, and then all of a sudden they're talking to a chat group of groomers on reddit who convince them that they're actually a wrongly ensouled body.
And of course COVID plays a role here. I try not to despair at the future, but the fact that we see more outrage from young people over things that affect them little to not at all (the NRA, "systemic racism"), while uttering not a peep about the incalculable harm that was done to them over the last few years . . . it's disheartening. I fear whatever remained of the Spirit of '76 is well and truly dead, and America is careening toward a gray, gay, totalitarian nightmare.
Yes, kids are so lonely today! I was an out-of-touch kid with few social skills, but I'd sit with the other lonely kids at lunch, and slowly built my skills and a friendship network. When my daughter went to high school, all the socially awkward kids were on their phones or laptops all the time, there was just nobody to talk with. She's doing much better in college, developing a sense of herself and social skills, but modern high schools too often are very exclusionary.
What's funny is the inversion of stereotypes I've witnessed. When I was a kid, it was the home-schooled kids who were seen as weird and socially awkward, whereas now whenever I meet a non-traditionally schooled child they are way more able to have a conversation etc than the mindless zombies that fill up our public schools.
I've noticed that all of the home-schooled kids I've encountered have been more academically advanced, more mature, and more socially comfortable with adults than their public-schooled peers.
Yeah man I remember meeting a class of them in my neighbor's makeshift schoolhouse and I was shocked at how much cooler they were than "normal" kids: conscientious, mature, able to look you in the eye when they speak, NOT ON THEIR PHONE
Good observation!
Thank you for sharing your story. It amazes me how the stories of our son’s are so similar. Boys are getting so caught up in this more and more. My son is in 11th grade and knows we don’t approve of hormones. He is now asking me for licorice root tea. My guess is that he must have researched somewhere that this can substitute for hormones. Best wishes to everyone caught up in this. I pray for an end to this soon.