Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults: A Guide for Professionals and Families

240 Pages·2019·1.364 MB·English

by  Finn V. Gratton

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“This brilliant and comprehensive book takes
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us on a journey alongside trans autistic people.” O
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Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, Director of Mental Health, Child and Adolescent T
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Gender Center, University of California San Francisco, author of
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The Gender Creative Child and Gender Born, Gender Made S U P P O R T I N G

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“A true gem and essential reading for families and A
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professionals willing to take action to make the world a more
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welcoming place for trans autistic youth and adults.” G
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Katherine A. Kuvalanka, PhD, Department of Family N
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Science and Social Work, Miami University
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“I cannot stress enough the importance of this book!” A
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Dr. Wenn Lawson, PhD, CPsych, BPSs, AFBPSs, MAPs T
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Providing advice on how professionals working with autistic trans youth A Guide for Professionals and Families

and adults can tailor their practice to best serve their clients and how Y
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parents can support their trans autistic children, this book increases
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awareness of the large overlap between trans identities and autism. T
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By including chapters on gender diversity basics, neuroqueer
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trauma, and how to support neuroqueer individuals, this book sets N
out strategies for creating more effective support that takes into D

account the unique experiences of trans people on the spectrum. A
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Finn V. Gratton is a somatic psychotherapist specializing in T
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trauma and transgender and autistic/neurodivergent issues.
Finn also identifes as non-binary and autistic. F
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Jessica Kingsley Publishers
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www.jkp.com F I N N V. G R AT TO N, L M F T, L P C C
COVER: ROSAMUND BIRD @JKPGender @JKPautism
Supporting Transgender
Autistic Youth and Adults
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Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
of related interest
Improving Services for Transgender and Gender Variant Youth
Research, Policy and Practice for Health and Social Care Professionals
Tifany Jones
ISBN 978 1 78592 425 5
eISBN 978 1 78450 789 3
Gender Identity, Sexuality and Autism
Voices from Across the Spectrum
Eva A. Mendes and Meredith R. Maroney
Foreword by Wenn Lawson
ISBN 978 1 78592 754 6
eISBN 978 1 78450 585 1
Counseling Transgender and Non-Binary Youth
Te Essential Guide
Irwin Krieger
ISBN 978 1 78592 743 0
eISBN 978 1 78450 482 3
Teorizing Transgender Identity for Clinical Practice
A New Model for Understanding Gender
S.J. Langer
ISBN 978 1 78592 765 2
eISBN 978 1 78450 642 1
Supporting Young Transgender Men
A Guide for Professionals
Matthew Waites
ISBN 978 1 78592 294 7
eISBN 978 1 78450 601 8
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Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
SUPPORTING
TRANSGENDER
AUTISTIC
YOUTH AND ADULTS
A Guide for Professionals and Families
FINN V. GRATTON, LMFT, LPCC
Illustrated by Harper Cheaney
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Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
Excerpt from “Passing Strange” by Adriel Eliora Smith, originally published
in All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Radicalized Autism, edited
by L.X.Z. Brown, E. Ashkenanzy and M. Giwa-Onaiwu, reproduced with
permission from Dragonbee Press/Autistic Women’s Network.
First published in 2020
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Finn V. Gratton, LMFT, LPCC 2020
Illustrations copyright © Harper Cheaney 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
material form (including photocopying, storing in any medium by electronic
means or transmitting) without the written permission of the copyright owner
except in accordance with the provisions of the law or under terms of a licence
issued in the UK by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. www.cla.co.uk or in
overseas territories by the relevant reproduction rights organisation, for details
see www.ifrro.org. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to
reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: Te doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work
may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 78592 803 1
eISBN 978 1 78450 830 2
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Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
Contents
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Notes on Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1. Autistic and Transgender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2. Recognizing an Autistic Transgender Person. . . . . . . . . . 33
3. Te Inside Experience of Being Trans and Autistic . . . . . . 61
4. Working with Trauma and Minority Stress. . . . . . . . . . . 73
5. Working with Connection, Attachment, and Relationships . 85
6. Working with Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
.d 7. Health Care Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
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r sth 8. Navigating the Cisgender Neurotypical World. . . . . . . . . 149
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.sre 9. Crisis Interventions and Preparing for Crises . . . . . . . . . 175
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u 10. Looking Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
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niK 11. Neuroqueer Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
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cisseJ .9 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
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Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
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Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
Acknowledgements
My clients have given me an advanced course in neurodiversity, and
in how transgender identity intersects with neurodiversity. I am deeply
grateful to everyone who has stepped into my ofce and has worked with
me to bridge the gap between our minds and our experience.
I could not be the gender therapist I am without the support and
wisdom of the Santa Cruz Trans consulting group and my Mind the Gap
and TPATH colleagues. Tank you for years of case consultation and for
answering my requests for information with dispatch and generosity.
Gratitude to Mere Abrams for helping me set up the Neuroqueer Survey,
and to all the people who took the time to complete the very long
survey. Special thanks to Harper Cheaney for reading and illustrating
each chapter, and for creating an illustrated fow chart of “What to do
when writing a book feels impossible”; and to Natasha Distiller, for
reviewing every chapter and ofering suggestions that have made this
a better book and an easier read—all because “this is what friends do.”
My work rests on some great shoulders. Many leaders in transgender
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evre care and in the neurodiversity movement have opened doors that have
ser sthg mDiaadnee tEhhisr ebnosoakf ,p Sohsasinbel eH. Tilol, Jtehno sHe awsthino ghsa, vjuel ipee grsroanhaamlly, gNuiicdke Wd malkee—r,
ir llA .sre and Dora Raymaker—thank you for your work and your support.
h To the Legendary Collective, thank you for the weekly respite of
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lsg to Carolyn Brigit Flynn and my “last mile” writing group, thank you for
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cisse copyeditor, much gratitude for the template, style sheet, and every serial
J .9 comma I missed. Finally, to Andrew, Maya, Brian, and Julia, my deepest
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Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
Notes on Text
GENDERED LANGUAGE
Tere are several conventions used throughout the text that may be
unfamiliar. Troughout the book, when referring to an individual of
unknown gender or a group of people of unknown genders or mixed
genders, the pronoun “they” is used in both singular and plural cases.
Tis convention is used to include the large number of non-binary-
gendered people who do not identify with the pronouns “he” or “she.”
Te singular “they” is widely used by many transgender non-binary
people, although some may use other pronouns or their own names in
lieu of personal pronouns (Kapitan 2017).
Te term “cisgender” is used to refer to an individual whose personal
gender identity corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth.
“Agender” is used to refer to people who do not identify with any
gender. Transgender, cisgender, agender, and non-binary identities
(such as genderqueer, multigender, and bigender) are all adjectives. For
example, “Adrian is an agender tightrope walker who is performing with
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se
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a neurodiversity paradigm (Walker 2014) holds that neurological variation
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10 organization. This book is written from within this neurodiversity
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Gratton, Finn V.. Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults : A Guide for Professionals and Families, Jessica Kingsley
Notes on Text 9
These changes include using identity-first language rather than
person-frst language (“autistic adult” rather than “adult with autism”),
and using the terms “neurotypical” and “neurodivergent” rather than
“normal” and “disordered.” Te term “neurotypical” is used to refer to
people who are in the neuro-majority, while “allistic” is used to refer
to people who are not autistic.
Finally, language related to “functioning levels” (e.g., “high-
functioning” and “low-functioning”) will not be used, unless it is part
of a quote or a study. Te term “autism spectrum” will not be used
because it generally refers to a one-dimensional line that extends from
point A (those people perceived as furthest from allistic functioning)
to point B (those perceived as most like allistic people). Tis verbal
and mental construction posits a one-dimensional view of human
experience and expression that places allistic experience and behavior
as superior to autistic experience and behavior. Where diferences in
functioning matter, for example in the case of autistic individuals with
low speech abilities trying to access services, I will note the distinguishing
characteristics that afect the autistic person’s life.
While I have done my best to use language that is preferred by autistic
and transgender people, language use changes over time and individual
use may difer. When quoting or referring to an individual person, their
language choices will be retained.
CASE EXAMPLES
I have included several cases within this book to provide examples of
how certain issues can be addressed in therapy or social work. No person
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h many transgender autistic youth and adults and their families.
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