Norman Spack

Dr. Norman P. Spack is an American pediatric endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital, where he co-founded the hospital's Gender Management Service (GeMS) clinic in February 2007; it is America's first clinic to treat transgender children.[1][2] He is an internationally known specialist in treatment for intersexed and transgender youth.

Spack has been consulted to discuss trans medical issues, often specifically pediatric in focus, in media outlets such as 20/20,[3] Time,[4] The Atlantic,[5] and National Public Radio.[6][7][8] He wrote the foreword of the 2008 book The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals.

Medical View on Transsexuality

While McHugh argues against transgenderism, a pediatric endocrinologist Norman P. Spack works with and supports transgender youth. He argues that instead of being a mental disorder, as McHugh likes to call it, that it is a medical condition,and has been quoted as saying that "looking at transgenderism from a medical perspective will change the public perception that it is a psychological problem” <Underwood>. Spack is also the senior associate in the endocrine division at [http://www.childrenshospital.org Boston Children’s Hospital]. He help co-found a treatment plan at the clinic called Gender Services Program (GEMs) that aims to slow puberty down for children questioning their gender <Underwood>. According to Spack, "the primary goal of the GeMS clinic is to provide medical treatment to appropriately screen gender dysphoric adolescents, along with the comprehensive psychological evaluation recommended by the Adolescent Gender Identity Research Group (AGIR) and the Endocrine Society for making this clinical decision. The clinic does not currently provide ongoing mental health services to patients and families but assists families in finding appropriate mental health therapists in their communities. In addition, a Children's Hospital Boston staff psychiatrist, who specializes in gender identity and sexuality issues, is available to provide both psychotherapy and psychopharmacological treatment where needed" <Psychological Evaluation>. By stalling a person's puberty it delays the physical changes of one's body that have nothing to do with that persons psychological perspective. One of Spack’s assistants in the clinic says, “Dr. Spack’s help has made such a huge difference in the patients’ lives” <Underwood>. Spack states that 35 percent of his patients served by the clinic have tried to physically harm themselves or have thought about suicide prior to seeking medical help. “Post-medication, the patients give testimonies of better interactions in school, a better environment at home, and functioning a whole lot better,” said Stanley R. Vance, a student at Harvard Medical School who also works in Spack’s clinic. “Dr. Spack is a trailblazer in an area of medicine that hasn’t gotten adequate attention” <Underwood>. Spack realizes that it is known as a mental disorder, but he and other members of the medical community want to push back and frame it, instead as a medical condition rather than a disorder.

"Psychological Evaluation and Medical Treatment of Transgender Youth in an Interdisciplinary “Gender Management Service” (GeMS) in a Major Pediatric Center." N.p., 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Underwood, Alice E. M. "Doctor Promotes Medical View of Transgenderism | News | The Harvard Crimson." Doctor Promotes Medical View of Transgenderism | News | The Harvard Crimson. N.p., 24 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Transgender At 10". Wweek.com. 2014-08-06. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  2. ↑ "New clinic addresses intersex and gender issues". Pediatric Views. April 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  3. ↑ Goldberg, Alan B. (25 April 2007). "Born in the wrong body". ABC 20/20. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  4. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Laura (8 November 2007). "The gender conundrum". Time. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  5. ↑ Rosin, Hanna (November 2008). "A Boy's Life". The Atlantic. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  6. ↑ Spiegel, Alix (8 May 2008). "Q&A: Doctors on puberty-delaying treatments". National Public Radio. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  7. ↑ Spiegel, Alix (8 May 2008). "Parents consider treatment to delay son's puberty". National Public Radio. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  8. ↑ Going Female | WBUR and NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook

External links

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