XXY Perspectives

	Roberta
	This letter was originally posted on the XXYList August 2, 1999. Hi again, Vaughn! I wrote: I'm sorry, but I must disagree with your statement that "the dx for pre-pubertal boys is largely useless, ..." It is also "not meaningless" to have an early dx, irrespective of a specific "treatment" at this time. You wrote: Hi, Roberta, any chance of expanding on this a bit, a smidgen? You further wrote: It may be vastly helpful to the parent but I don't see how it is for the child - what different strategies would be used because of the dx? An LD is an LD no matter the cause. ------------------------------------------------------------- Because it is vastly helpful to the parent is exactly the reason that, by extension, it will also be vastly helpful to the child. First of all, pre-dx, the parent is filled with self-doubt regarding what he or she "did wrong" with regard to "parenting skills" and which as a consequence is causing his/her child to be experiencing the difficulties which he is having with regard to social skills, social interaction with peers, problems in re "learning" in the classroom, etc. ("Bad parent" syndrome) Top Secondly, once it has been recognized that the child may have to be educated in ways other than "traditional", the child can be helped to understand that he is not "stupid", that he is, in reality, probably "very bright" and "very intelligent", but that for "some reason", his brain processes info. in a somewhat "different" way than that of some of his peers. Thirdly, "knowledge is power" and knowledge is also "empowering". It is my opinion that the sooner a parent knows that his/her child is of the karyotype XXY (or a variant thereof), the better it will be, in the "long run" for the child. Knowing that a child is of the karyotype XXY will then alert the parent to make sure that his/her son will receive, when indicated, the assistance needed to ensure that his/her child will succeed in the areas of learning academic, social, and even physical skills that one needs to succeed in "life". How many times have we heard from fellows, Vaughn, that they knew at a very early age that they felt "different" from their peers, but they didn't know why they were feeling this way. Wouldn't it have been better if the parent was aware as to why his/her child might be feeling this way and hopefully would find ways to reassure the child that he is "okay"? I could probably go on, but I think that I have said enough. Sincerely, Roberta Return to the Letters Aneuploidies \| E - Mail Lists \| Feedback \| Gender/Intersex \| International XXY Sites \| Links-Canada \| Links for Parents \| Medical Dictionary \| News \| Qu'est-ce Que le Syndrome de Klinefelter (XXY)? \| Site Information \| Site Search \| What is XXY? \| XXY Perspectives \| Top This page first created: May 24, 1999 Bottom

I wrote:
I'm sorry, but I must disagree with your statement that "the dx for pre-pubertal boys is largely useless, ..." It is also "not meaningless" to have an early dx, irrespective of a specific "treatment" at this time.

It may be vastly helpful to the parent but I don't see how it is for the child - what different strategies would be used because of the dx? An LD is an LD no matter the cause.

------------------------------------------------------------- Because it is vastly helpful to the parent is exactly the reason that, by extension, it will also be vastly helpful to the child. First of all, pre-dx, the parent is filled with self-doubt regarding what he or she "did wrong" with regard to "parenting skills" and which as a consequence is causing his/her child to be experiencing the difficulties which he is having with regard to social skills, social interaction with peers, problems in re "learning" in the classroom, etc. ("Bad parent" syndrome)

Thirdly, "knowledge is power" and knowledge is also "empowering". It is my opinion that the sooner a parent knows that his/her child is of the karyotype XXY (or a variant thereof), the better it will be, in the "long run" for the child. Knowing that a child is of the karyotype XXY will then alert the parent to make sure that his/her son will receive, when indicated, the assistance needed to ensure that his/her child will succeed in the areas of learning academic, social, and even physical skills that one needs to succeed in "life".

How many times have we heard from fellows, Vaughn, that they knew at a very early age that they felt "different" from their peers, but they didn't know why they were feeling this way. Wouldn't it have been better if the parent was aware as to why his/her child might be feeling this way and hopefully would find ways to reassure the child that he is "okay"?

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This page first created: May 24, 1999
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