CHILDREN in England who have gender dysphoria will be tested for autism, according to leaked plans.
New guidance set to be issued in the wake of the Cass Review into gender identity services in the NHS is understood to call for transgender children to be “screened for neurodevelopmental conditions”.
This will include autism and ADHD, according to reports.
The Cass Review, published in April 2024, led to puberty blockers being banned as a treatment for under-18s in December that year.
The Scottish Government accepted the report's findings and implemented the ban north of the Border. It is not clear if the incoming guidance, reportedly to be published imminently, will be applied in Scotland.
The Scottish Greens described the intervention as “inappropriate”, adding that it would make waiting lists for both trans healthcare and autism assessments.
The guidance is expected to see the health service in England move away from a “medical model” in favour of a “holistic” approach to care.
Medics will examine various aspects of children’s lives when they are referred to services.
These include mental health assessments, family relationships, sexual development, the presence of learning disabilities or neurodevelopmental conditions as well as their social, cognitive and physical growth, a report in the Telegraph suggests.
“Given the high prevalence of neurodiversity identified within this population, all those attending the NHS children and young people’s gender service should receive screening for neurodevelopmental conditions,” the leaked document says.
If screening “identifies the presence of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a referral should be considered to the paediatric neurodevelopmental service or paediatric ASD service,” it adds.
An NHS England spokesperson said: “As part of NHS England’s commitment to implement advice from the Cass Review, we have recently gone out to stakeholder testing on a proposed revised specification planned to replace the interim service specification for the children and young people’s gender service.
“We will soon be going to full public consultation on this draft specification which sets out the new holistic assessment framework that was described by Dr Cass in her report.
“NHS England has recently changed the referral pathway so child patients can only access gender services that we commission if they’re referred by a paediatrician or a child and adolescent mental health worker.”
Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay said: “This assertion is totally inappropriate and is part of an attempt to further stigmatise and delegitimise trans people and their identities and shows a lack of understanding about people with autism.
"On top of that it would only extend the waiting times that are already far too long, both for trans healthcare and for autism assessments."
UK health minister Stephen Kinnock said he was “not familiar” with the reported plans, but told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “I think the Cass review set out very clearly that change is required, that some mistakes have been made and we need to rectify those,.
“The best way to do that now is to really look at how we get our gender services working for our young people in a way that reflects the complexity of each individual.
“So rather than taking a blanket position, it’s much more about really understanding the specific circumstances, because each case is very different, and then taking the action that’s required.
“And, of course, young people who are presenting with gender dysphoria need to be listened to, need to be treated with respect and dignity, but we’ve also got to ensure that the system isn’t leading to unintended consequences.”
It comes after the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released guidance on single-sex spaces following the Supreme Court’s gender ruling.
It followed the court’s judgment that a “woman” is defined under the Equality Act 2010 as being a “biological woman”, and does not include transgender women with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
On Friday, the EHRC’s interim guidance stated that it was “compulsory” for workplaces to provide single-sex toilets and changing facilities.
It also said that transwomen cannot use female toilets, while transmen cannot use male toilets as they would “no longer” be single-sex facilities.
The guidance later states: “However where facilities are available to both men and women, trans people should not be put in a position where there are no facilities for them to use. Where possible, mixed-sex toilet, washing or changing facilities in addition to sufficient single-sex facilities should be provided.”
