Participant testimonies

About their experience of participating in the study:

J – Parent: “When we were asked to join the research study I instantly said yes! And the research team are amazing ladies! So supportive and welcoming and really interact with both parents and children. It is amazing to be able to help them, as well as them helping us, as meeting other families (at the Patient and Participant Information Group) makes you feel less alone in this journey.”

M – Child: “I really enjoy my time with the research team. The team are really nice, funny and fun. They are great to chat to and I’ve really enjoyed meeting them and other children (at the Patient and Participant Information Group).

It is nice to be able to help them because they get to help others like me in the future with the research information they get from us.”

A – Parent: “The research team has been incredibly welcoming and kind. While we were sharing our own experience of our journey as a family with a very young child, who has consistently and persistently said they are identifying as the opposite gender than that of their biological birth sex, the team who conducting the research showed great kindness and understanding of the sensitivity around this and showed no judgement towards us.

“It is really re-assuring that 1) there is funding made available to invest on good quality research and 2) the research is aimed at an age group that is showing a higher number of incidences of children at a young age insisting they are a different gender and 3) understanding the impact this will have on their families and the support structures required further down their journey.   We as a family are so grateful to be a part of this much needed research.”

Experience of participating in PPI group:

J – Parent: “It has been a great opportunity for me and my son to meet other families and hear their stories and discuss everything around Gender Dysphoria.”

M – Child: “It is amazing to meet other children like me. I enjoy hearing their journeys and telling them mine.”

A – Parent: “We as a family found it incredibly comforting to finally meet other families who are going through the same experience as us. It was also hugely valuable for both my cis child and my gender non-conforming child to meet other children who they can relate to and talk to them about their journey.”