Duke University Health System of Durham, NC has created a new clinic to treat children and teems with gender identity and development issues.

The clinic will address young people who are transgender or intersex as well as those who may have genital development or puberty issues.

The link above provides some background through the story of Hunter Schafer, one of Duke's patients.

Deanna Adkins is the director of the new Duke Center for Child and Adolescent Gender Care.

We are working with all kinds of kids, from infants to teens. And we take care of children that are having problems developing gender. Gender can be anywhere from chromosomal problems like Turner Syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome, which is very common, to problems with the actual growth and going through puberty itself.

We have psychiatry and psychology working with us. We also have clinical social work for family support and counseling. We have pediatric urology for kids who may require surgery at some point. The endocrinologist and I will be doing hormonal therapy. We also have fertility components for kids who may have issues and not be fertile or might need assistance later on. We have a child and adolescent medical team who works with us, and they partnered with genetics and neonatology for infant care.

--Adkins

Here is a talk the Schafer family give at The Trinity School in NYC (over 30 minutes).

Hunter is an Art and Style contributor at Rookie Magazine...an online fashion/lifetyle magazine