Psychiatria pre prax 3/2023

Is it gender obsession in a girl with Asperger’s syndrome or gender dysphoria?

There is appearing a new phenomenon in the outpatient psychiatric services for children and adolescents that is the occurrence of gender dysphoria in individuals with autism spectrum disorders, according to the current ICD-10 it is meant in individuals with Asperger’s syndrome. The manifestation of the disorder is atypical and differential diagnosis is complicated by the fact that an obsessive preoccupation with a certain topic or object is also one of the manifestations of Asperger’s syndrome. There are studies that demonstrate the frequent occurrence of autism spectrum disorders in individuals with gender dysphoria. Therefore, Asperger’s syndrome should not be an exclusion criterion for establishing a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. At the same time, however, it is necessary to think about the fact that the initially obvious gender dysphoria can only be a temporary obsession of an individual with an autistic spectrum disorder. Therapy and other interventions such as sexological, endocrinological and surgical should take this fact into account. The case report presents the mentioned issue.

Keywords: gender dysphoria, autism spectrum disorders, Asperger’s syndrome, obsessive preoccupation, sexological, endocrinological and surgical interventions