A scoping review of the lived experiences of gender diverse children and youth with disabilities

BackgroundResearch exploring the lived experiences of gender diverse children and youth with disabilities is still in its infancy. Previous research has either focused on adults or has lumped the experiences of trans and nonbinary children and youth with disabilities in with broader findings of 2SLGBTQI + youth with disabilities. This is problematic given that experiences of sexual diversity are different than experiences of gender diversity and the experiences of children and youth are not identical to adults.AimsWe conducted a scoping review to map and synthesize research that explores the lived experiences of young people with disabilities who also identify as trans, nonbinary, or gender diverse. The question guiding the review was: what are the lived experiences of gender diverse children and youth with disabilities?MethodsWe followed Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) best practices in scoping review methodology in addition to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. We searched seven databases: Ovid Medline, Healthstar, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, Sociological Abstracts, and Web of Science for empirical peer-reviewed research.ResultsWe identified 21 articles that met our inclusion criteria, with an additional 2 articles found from other sources, resulting in 23 included articles. We organized the data in the available research into the following three overarching categories: (1) Experiences of discrimination and abuse; (2) Impact of minoritized identities on health; and (3) Coping strategies of, and interventions to support, gender minoritized youth with disabilities.ConclusionsOur review shows that gender diverse children and youth with disabilities are at increased risk of experiencing discrimination and abuse, which impacts their psychological well-being and quality of life. We conclude that this population requires increased opportunities to socialize in affirming and inclusive environments and greater supports for accessing social and medical transition.