- They are transgender, gender diverse or gender questioning
- You think they are transgender
- They have a relative or associate who is (or you think is ) transgender

Support Services provided by The Gender Centre
Support offered to families and parents with transgender children from the Gender Centre .
Finding out your child is transgender is often an experience that leaves you as a parent wondering “where do I go to find out how to support my child”. The Gender Centre has a case work support program that works with families. This involves access to our counsellor's for the family as well as a case worker. The model that we offer is flexible. Sometimes families identify that they need individual support and in this instance a case worker is allocated to parents and a separate case worker is available to support your child. At other times families identify they prefer to work collaboratively and want to see only one case worker together. Either option is available and is one which is discussed in the initial meeting you.
On your first visit you would meet with a senior case worker to discuss how the Centre can support you. Information and a list of services that would also be helpful to you will also be provided. At this time case workers will be allocated to your family based on how you identify you would like to receive support and the senior worker will make sure that you are aware of who your worker(S) are and their rostered days in the office.
Counselling is available also in the same way as the case work. Parents may access a counsellor and the child may access the centres second counsellor. However this model is only applicable if your child is over 16 years of age. If your child is under 16 counselling can only be provided at the centre with parental or care givers consent . Links to other individual counsellors and specialists for young people under the age of 16 can be provided at the original intake case work meeting.
Transgender people are arguably the least understood and most maligned of all minority groups. A fixed concept of gender is perhaps the most basic assumption in our culture and contradictions to that assumption are often extremely confronting. Sigmund Freud, observed in his writings in "Femininity":
When you meet a human being, the first distinction you make is male or female - and you are accustomed to make the distinction with unhesitating certainty."
Perhaps everyone will have at some time asked the question, "is that a boy or a girl", when they have been unable to make the distinction. Even when there is no direct interaction with the individual concerned there is often an irrational need to know the answer. Certainly it is the common first question asked of parents of a newborn baby.
Culturally then, there is enormous pressure for all individuals to adopt the expected gender behaviours associated with being male or female. What then are the implications for individuals whose sense of gender is contrary to their physical maleness or femaleness? Sadly there are many.
Before addressing these it might be useful to give some background on transgender-identity. A transgender person, according to the definition adopted by the N.S.W. Anti-Discrimination Board, is:
"anyone who lives, has lived, or wants to live as a member of the opposite gender (sex) to their birth sex."
According to medical models, in children, it is someone who:
Both definitions carry limitations.
The transgender community itself allows for a far more multi coloured umbrella definition that is inclusive of anyone who transgresses gender norms. However the "feminine" boy or the "masculine" girl are not providing guaranteed clues of transgenderism. A transgender child cannot always be readily identified by their behaviour. Indeed, it could well be the most masculine behaving, least likely boy on the block, is actually transgender. Because transgender children carry the same gender conditioning as others, their true feelings, and their own fear of them, will often be hidden under outwardly appropriate birth gender behaviour.
Source material for the above http://www.hrc.org/resources/transgender-children-and-youth-understanding-the-basics
If you live in regional NSW support is still available to you. Call the Gender Centre to discuss your needs and support options.
For more information and to organise training tailored to your workplace contact The Gender Centre on 02-9569-2366
Services we offer our youth
Crisis and Transitional accommodation, for youth over the age of 18.......Brokerage,......Family Support,......School Support,......Case Management,.....Counselling & Spychological support service's and Speech Pathology
What is gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria is the diagnosis typically given to a person whose assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the term – which recently replaced Gender Identity Disorder – “is intended to better characterize the experiences of affected children, adolescents, and adults.” To be clear, transgender identity is not a mental illness that can be cured with treatment. Rather, transgender people often experience a persistent and authentic disconnect between the sex assigned to them at birth and their internal sense of who they are. This disconnect is referred to by medical professionals as “gender dysphoria” because it can cause undue pain and distress in the lives of transgender people
For more information and support contact one of the case workers at the centre on 9569-2366
There is a number of youth identifying as transgender and transitioning at school. The Gender Centre has had a significant expansion of services delivered to schools.
Our engagement with schools involves supporting the school in providing best practice for the student during transition and right through the course of their schooling. This involves inclusive meetings with a variety of stakeholders including principles, welfare teachers, counsellors, parents, year advisers and where necessary external welfare department consultant. It is essential that planning is thorough to allow for best practice to occur. This involves setting time frames with the provision for flexibility, physical alterations and adjustments made at the school for the dignity and safety of the young person, amendments to formal processes to reflect the students name and gender, and ensuring a strong and sensitive support network is in place.
Assisting the transition of a young person at school requires professional development, training, creating awareness, and affecting cultural change. There are a number of components in our delivery model in holistic support of the young person and the school.
At a school level we may facilitate a meeting with the Principal and a few other key leaders, for instance the Head Teacher Welfare, the counsellor or the Deputy Principal, to determine the professional development and training that is required for the staff if needed. The workshop is usually held during staff professional development time and delivered as a workshop. Our workshop provides an understanding of transgender, the stages of physical, social and legal transition and best practice for whole school inclusivity, and how to enact best practice support for the young person in transition. We also emphasise the importance of ensuring the school culture continues to embrace diversity, promoting respect, tolerance and inclusivity in a sensitive way that does not cause harm to the young person by focusing attention on ‘transgender’ and having unwarranted attention drawn to the young person. This is a fine and delicate balance that requires specialized support. These workshops have proven effective in providing information to staff and developing their knowledge. Staff benefit from the ability to ask questions from professionals to ensure they feel more confident in assisting the young person who is transitioning at school.
Transitioning at school can be exciting and scary at the same time, for both the young person and their parents. Our support extends to the parents and families of the young person. The parents need to be involved in the transition at school. Often parents themselves need support in how to approach the school and how to make changes at home to make sure the family environment remains stable. With our assistance early intervention that achieves positive outcomes is possible for the whole family, the parents, the transgender youth and any siblings. Our early intervention practices have proven successful with families staying together and supporting their transgender youth on their journey. We are a holistic wrap around service and provide casework support to the youth and parent as a unit, This journey is a complex process and we support the family with referrals to gender identity specialists including, psychologists, psychiatrist, endocrinologists if they are requested .
The Department of Education and Communities is committed to providing safe and supportive learning environments that respect and value diversity and are free from violence, discrimination, harassment and vilification. Research shows that a supportive environment in schools can have a lasting impact on both the educational and lifelong outcomes for students.
Most people express the gender that corresponds with their biological sex. There are some people whose gender identity or expression is different from that traditionally associated with an assigned sex at birth. This is known as being transgender. This can occur at any age.
All students, including those who identify as transgender have a right to be treated equitably and with dignity.
A student who has identified as transgender enjoys the same legal rights or protections afforded to all students under the duty of care, education and work health and safety laws.
Firstly, under N.S.W. Anti-Discrimination legislation, and the NSW Department of Education and Communities transgender people have a right to equality in education it is prohibited from unlawfully discriminating against a student on the grounds of being transgender
It does not follow that an application for enrolment from a transgender student can never be declined or that a transgender student can never be expelled. Rather, the law requires the student is not subjected to unlawful discrimination when such decisions are made.
The responsibility for ensuring this occurs rests with the institution and its staff. It is incumbent on staff to ensure that such students are not subject to harassment from other students or from anyone else in the school community. This means that teachers must take an active role in eliminating behaviours that threaten the equitable treatment of the transgender student.
Secondly, afford the transgender student the same level of respect and courtesy as you would afford anyone else. If you are confronted by their sense of identity it is a reflection of your own gender expectations. Keep uppermost in your thoughts that every human being is deserving of respect. Be prepared to defend the dignity of the student, listen to their views and be open to expanding your own understanding. Our capacity to learn from those who are different in the world is greater than from those who apparently share our commonality. Be a role model to increasingly educate yourself.
Finally, if the student is fully transitioned and attending school as a member of their identified gender, then facilitate their access to activities specifically designated for that gender, respect their identity by referring to them by chosen name and appropriate gender references. For the most part the transgender student simply wants to be acknowledged and treated in the same way as any other member of their identified gender.
It is equally as important to ensure that the school environment and culture, and student population have the skills to sustain a supportive culture and to bridge knowledge gaps to support understanding. At the whole school level, it is important to ensure that the school culture continues to embrace school values of respect, dignity, fairness, equality, tolerance and diversity of all diversities including transgender.
We at the Gender Centre recognize that each school is unique and as such work with each principale to determine the best ways in which to educate and inform .
In some instances we need to be intensively involved in supporting the young transgender person if they are under the guardianship of FACS. In these instances, youth have a lower level of support to access to specialist services. We work closely with the school and support staff to make sure that the young person’s needs at school are met at every point of contact. We work with the school to ensure that practices are in place to maintain school attendance, as for some young transgender people, school can be daunting during transition.
The Gender Centre Inc. is funded by Sydney Local Area Health District & and the Department of Communities and Justice.
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