The American College of Pediatricians (ACOP) has cautioned educators about the management of students experiencing same-sex attraction or exhibiting symptoms of gender confusion. A pro-homosexuality attitude could disrupt a natural uncertainty in youth for the worse.

             “As pediatricians, our primary interest is in the health and well-being of children and youth,” Dr. Den Trumbull, Vice President of the College. “We are increasingly concerned that in too many instances, misinformation or incorrect assumptions are guiding well-intentioned educators to adopt policies that are actually harmful to those youth dealing with sexual confusion.”

            These concerns are outlined in a letter and fact sheet sent by College president Thomas Benton, MD, to all 14,800 school district superintendents in the U.S.  

            Dr. Benton also alerts them to a new web resource, FactsAboutYouth.com, which was created by a coalition of health professionals to provide factual information to educators, parents, and students about sexual development.

            The College reminded school superintendents that it is not uncommon for adolescents to experience transient confusion about their sexual orientation, and that most students will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged. For this reason, the doctors warned that schools should not seek to develop policy which “affirms” or encourages these non-heterosexual attractions among students who may merely be experimenting or experiencing temporary sexual confusion.

            "Even children with Gender Identity Disorder (when a child desires to be the opposite sex) will typically lose this desire by puberty, if the behaviour is not reinforced.

            "Researchers Zucker and Bradley also maintain that when parents or others allow or encourage a child to behave and be treated as the opposite sex, the confusion is reinforced and the child is conditioned for a life of unnecessary pain and suffering."

            They warned that "even when motivated by noble intentions, schools can ironically play a detrimental role if they reinforce this disorder."

            Such premature labeling, they said, can lead some adolescents to engage in homosexual behaviours that carry serious physical and mental health risks. It noted that these health risks seen "among adolescents who claim a 'gay' identity" are: "higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, alcoholism, substance abuse, anxiety, depression and suicide."

            Because there is no scientific evidence that anyone is born gay or transgendered, the College noted, schools should not teach or imply to students that homosexual attraction is innate, always life-long and unchangeable.  "Instead," it added, "the best available research points to multiple factors -- primarily social and familial -- that predispose children and adolescents to homosexual attraction and/or gender confusion."

            "It is also critical to understand that these conditions can respond well to therapy," the college noted, underlining a study which shows that "individuals with unwanted same sex attraction often can be successfully treated; there is no undue risk to patients from embarking on such therapy and; as a group, homosexuals experience significantly higher levels of mental and physical health problems compared to heterosexuals."

            "It is the school's legitimate role to provide a safe environment for respectful self-expression for all students," the statement affirmed. "It is not the school's role to diagnose and attempt to treat any student's medical condition, and certainly not a school's role to 'affirm' a student's perceived personal sexual orientation."

            "It is critical to the health of your students that you and your staff rely on accurate information regarding sexual orientation and gender confusion issues," it added.

            To this end, the college launched a Facts About Youth Web site with data and facts from the Centers for Disease Control and research institutions for school staff and parents.

            A member of the Pontifical Council for the Family is welcoming ACOP’s statement

            Christine Vollmer, also a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, president of Alliance for the Family and leader of the Alive to the World initiative, lauded the March 31 letter.

            In a statement to Zenit, Vollmer affirmed, "It is wonderful to have this made absolutely clear, and so much well-meaning but ill-placed 'acceptance' put into proper perspective."

            She noted that Alive to the World, which has a 12-year curriculum, "has clear guidelines for understanding and accompanying children and adolescents through the various psychological stages to maturity," including the desire by prepubescent children to be of the opposite sex.

            Vollmer affirmed: "In the words of Doctor Benton, ‘Adolescence is a time of upheaval and impermanence. Adolescents experience confusion about many things, including sexual orientation and gender identity, and they are particularly vulnerable to environmental influences.'"

            "What is needed," she said, "is a solid curriculum which can encourage character growth through self-knowledge in the light of universal values." (Sources: Children, Kathleen Gilbert, LifeSiteNews.com, April 7; “Pediatricians: don’t re-inforce gender disorder,” Zenit.org, April 12).