Best Practices for Working with Trans and Gender Diverse Youth: A Systematic Review
Year: 2026
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: The growing awareness of trans and gender diverse (TGD) youth, evidenced by an increase in youth self-identifying, highlights a need for field-specific guidelines in speech language pathology (SLP) for working with this population. Most existing SLP guidelines make recommendations exclusively for working with TGD adults. Additionally, guidelines addressing SLP services for TGD youth tend to focus, in large part, on gender affirming voice and communication and, to a lesser degree, on TGD youth with Autism to the exclusion of other clinical populations. TGD youth may be enrolled in SLP services for a variety of reasons (e.g., speech sound disorders, developmental language disorder, etc.) and deserve a high level of care that considers their unique needs. Given the emphasis of advocacy and collaboration in our scope of practice, the field of SLP is uniquely positioned to create spaces for free exploration of gender for TGD youth across clinical populations. In a systematic review of existing guidelines, eight English language documents were identified, and 22 individual recommendations for speech language pathologists (SLPs) were extracted, appraised, and synthesized. Most existing recommendations focused on additional training for SLPs surrounding gender affirming care in general and navigating the intersectional experiences of TGD youth with Autism in particular. Quality of recommendations was evaluated based on a series of questions articulated in “Users' Guide to the Medical Literature 3rd Edition”. Recommendations supported by research from the field of SLP tended to be clearer and more actionable. A small number of records were identified, and a limited number of clinical populations (i.e., gender affirming voice and communication clients and Autistic clients) were discussed across documents. Results indicate there is a clear need for more SLP research focused on TGD youth across clinical populations and more specific guidelines based on this research. Additionally, general clinical guidelines for working with TGD youth should consider and cite research from the field of SLP in writing SLP recommendations.
DOI: 10.7275/58797
Author: Stachowicz, Rebecca
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7224145243