Impact of Puberty Blockers on IQ
Let's talk about the impact of puberty blockers on brain development and functioning.
To understand what puberty blockers do to cognitive development and IQ, you first need to understand what IQ is, how it is constructed and how it's measured. The following explanation is of one model of IQ. There are others.
Definition: IQ is a property of the mind encompassing many related intellectual abilities, e.g. the capacities to reason; to plan, to solve problems; to think abstractly; to comprehend ideas; to use language; and to learn.
Definition: When aggregated, these factors determine the individual’s ability to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with their environment. This is their IQ, or their level of cognitive functioning. The average IQ falls between 85 and 115.
Types of IQ: Intelligence can be split into two subtypes: Crystalline (Gc) and Fluid (Gf). Gc (Crystalline IQ) is LEARNED or ACQUIRED knowledge: eg 'When was the Magna Carta signed'?; 'What is the name of the Earth's satellite'? It is heavily dependent on education.
Gc remains stable and/or increases over time as knowledge is gained. Gf (Fluid IQ) is related to novel problem solving, eg, how to put up an Ikea wardrobe, or how to plan a journey from say Cornwall to Aberdeen. Gf increases as the brain matures from childhood to adulthood.
Because Gf measures NOVEL problem-solving it is largely independent of educational attainment.
IQ is usually measured using the 3 Weschler scales:
WIPPSI young children (2-7); WISC children (6-16); and WAIS adults (16-91). There are between 10 and 15 subtests, aggregated to give the overall FULL SCALE IQ score (FSIQ). The test also yields separate Index scores.
Impact of puberty blockers: puberty blockers are given when the brain is maturing, through the creation of neural connections and the laying down of fatty tissue (Myelination). Puberty blockers interrupt this process. The following table shows the cognitive decline in a Brazilian child over 3 years on Lupron.
Her FSIQ fell from 80 to 70. From Low Average to Borderline Learning Disabilities. Her performance also fell on EVERY Index score. This is unprecedented. It is really important to know that IQ is a very STABLE construct. It does not change significantly over the lifespan.
Using the various Weschler scales, IQ should be roughly the same measured at ages 5, 25, 55 or 85. There will be some small changes (depending on external factors like fatigue, rapport, testing conditions, etc). These are accounted for by reporting the Confidence Interval.
But generally, IQ does NOT change significantly over the lifespan. Unless there is an 'insult' to the brain: eg head injury, infection or disease etc, IQ absolutely SHOULD NOT be dropping by 10 points over 3 years!!!!!
In 30 years of giving hundreds of IQ tests, I have only seen such a decline ONCE (a few weeks ago), in a man with severe Autism. Otherwise, a fall of this magnitude, without a head injury, tumour or other disease process, is simply unprecedented.
"This finding ALONE, in this single child, should have been enough to immediately halt ALL administration of puberty blockers worldwide until more data was collected. In medical terms, this is almost as unusual and alarming as if her blood type or fingerprints had changed."
But here's more evidence: Below shows an average 7-point drop in IQ of 25 kids after 2 years on puberty blockers. This rate of decline is consistent with the Brazilian finding. It's not an 'artefact' of testing. Something very serious and dangerous is happening as a result of puberty blockers.
This data is known. This information is out there, yet puberty blockers are still being pushed as 'Affirming' and 'lifesaving' care for children. In reality, puberty blockers are causing significant and possibly IRREVERSIBLE BRAIN DAMAGE. They are impacting both Gf and Gc.
ALL children should routinely have their IQ tested at the beginning of 'treatment' and periodically whilst on puberty blockers. But gender clinics are not collecting this data, so the true scale of the disaster in terms of the cognitive damage to children is not yet known.
It's possible these children's IQs are CONTINUING TO FALL. A 10-point drop is the difference between getting a degree or not. A 20-point drop is the difference between living independently or staying at home with parents because you cannot manage life without help.
This is a scandal of unprecedented and unimaginable proportions. But there's also mounting evidence that X-sex hormones are also causing a decline in IQ in adults even AFTER the critical Myelination process is complete (age 25 to 30). I will do another thread on that.
Transgender 'healthcare' for children is a Crime Against Humanity. It MUST be stopped. By us.
Puberty blockers do have a role: For a 4-year-old who starts menstruating, the risk of cognitive impairment is less than the psychological consequences of CPP. But they have absolutely NO place in 'treating' the psychological dysfunction of otherwise perfectly HEALTHY children.
Somehow, shockingly, puberty is now seen as an illness which must be blocked. Regardless of the consequences to children. But puberty blockers affect the ENTIRE body. Not just sexual development They don't mysteriously and miraculously stop working above the shoulders!
And, before I get all the usual, nonsensical pushback: I am a 'real' psychologist; I do have a DClinPsych; I am not, and have never claimed to be a medical doctor; I'm not a 'crackpot'; my views are not outliers; every clinical psychologist knows the truth of this thread.
See also my thread on the impact of puberty blockers on Executive Functioning ( ie higher level cognitive functioning - if IQ is the engine, EFs are the SatNav).
The impact is equally dire.
After knowing this information, how could anyone want to prescribe puberty blockers to a child or support the use? They basically support brain damage to kids (on top of the other mutilation).
Dr. P
30-year qualified DClinPsych C.Psychol
Certified Expert Witness/ADOS Assessor
Sources:
Hayes P. Commentary: Cognitive, Emotional, and Psychosocial Functioning of Girls Treated with Pharmacological Puberty Blockage for Idiopathic Central Precocious Puberty. Front Psychol. 2017 Jan 23;8:44. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00044. PMID: 28167925; PMCID: PMC5253377.
Schneider MA, Spritzer PM, Soll BMB, Fontanari AMV, Carneiro M, Tovar-Moll F, Costa AB, da Silva DC, Schwarz K, Anes M, Tramontina S and Lobato MIR (2017) Brain Maturation, Cognition and Voice Pattern in a Gender Dysphoria Case under Pubertal Suppression. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 11:528. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00528
Baxendale S. The impact of suppressing puberty on neuropsychological function: A review. Acta Paediatr. 2024; 113: 1156–1167. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.17150
