Children who think they are transgender ‘could have autism’ and are ‘fixating’ on their sex, says expert

In a documentary on BBC2 tonight, the Canadian child psychologist said of the link with autism: ‘It’s possible that kids who have a tendency to get obsessed or fixated on something may latch on to gender.

‘Just because kids are saying something doesn’t necessarily mean you accept it, or that it’s true, or that it could be in the best interests of the child.’

His view on autism is backed up by a Dutch study that found almost 8 per cent of patients at a gender identity clinic were on the autistic spectrum – seven times the general rate.

It has been suggested that cross-gender behaviour may be caused by some autistic children’s attraction to ‘unusual interests’.