Norman Spack

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, and is one of the first doctors in the United States[3] who advocates prescribing hormone replacement therapy to minors.[4]

Spack has been consulted to discuss trans medical issues, often specifically pediatric in focus, in media outlets such as 20/20,[5] Time,[6] The Atlantic,[7] and National Public Radio.[8][9][10] He wrote the foreword of the 2008 book The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals.

Medical view on transsexuality

Pediatric endocrinologist Norman P. Spack works with and supports transgender youth. He argues that instead of being a mental disorder, 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".[11] Spack is also the senior associate in the endocrine division at Boston Children's Hospital. He helped co-found a treatment plan at the clinic called Gender Services Program (GEMs) that aims to slow puberty down for children questioning their gender.[11] 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".[12]

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. ↑ Spack, Norman. "Transgenderism overview". www.imatyfa.org. Retrieved 2 March 2015. A model protocol currently employed in the Netherlands begins with a lengthy screening process in gender-variant pubescent teens at the “Tanner 2″ stage of pubertal development: breast budding in girls and testicular volumes of 8 cc, preceding phallic enlargement in boys. At this stage the pubertal manifestations are reversible. GnRH analogues are given for at least two years, potentially until age 16, when adolescents in the Netherlands are capable of giving informed consent to receive crosshormones.
  4. ↑ Kennedy, Pagan (30 March 2008). "Q&A with Norman Spack". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  5. ↑ Goldberg, Alan B. (25 April 2007). "Born in the wrong body". ABC 20/20. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  6. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Laura (8 November 2007). "The gender conundrum". Time. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  7. ↑ Rosin, Hanna (November 2008). "A Boy's Life". The Atlantic. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  8. ↑ Spiegel, Alix (8 May 2008). "Q&A: Doctors on puberty-delaying treatments". National Public Radio. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  9. ↑ Spiegel, Alix (8 May 2008). "Parents consider treatment to delay son's puberty". National Public Radio. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  10. ↑ Going Female | WBUR and NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook
  11. 1 2 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.
  12. ↑ "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.
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