In Jefferson County, common please judge Joseph Bruzzese has a custody ruling to make.

The ruling, whether a 10 year old boy of a divorced couple should live with his mother or father.

What makes this case unique, the boy wants to live his life as a girl. Sources close to the custody case say the mother is in support of the child's request, but the father is not.

The center of this custody battle is a condition called Gender Identity Disorder, the young child involved is an example of G-I-D.

Gender, by definition being male or female, is the basic element that helps make up an individual's personality and sense of self.

G-I-D is a condition in which a male or female feels a strong identification with the opposite sex...

"boys with gid would perceive themselves as girls"

"kids with gid - if he's a boy - would assume he is a girl and do things girls normally do"

Local psychiatrist doctor Richard Ajayi says not only do people with G-I-D perceive themselves as the opposite sex, but he says its as if the brain is working under a different gender identity.

And he says this different identity means what the body looks like on the outside does **not** match how the brain is **functioning** on the inside...

Though the exact cause of G-I-D is not known, Dr. Ajayi says it does occur more often in males than females.

He says the problem could originate from a number of places, it can be biological, a chromosomal disorder or hormone imbalance.

Another factor in studying the disorder is the social or cultural effect, a defect in normal human bonding.

Dr. Ajayi says, "The condition can get progressive as the child gets older."

That's where he says the right treatment can get tricky, its not lined out in black and white, "The child is still growing and you are not going to treat a child the way you treat an adult with gender identity disorder."

In fact, in children symptoms include expressed desire to be the opposite sex, disgust with their own genitalia, rejection by their peer groups, and dressing or role playing as the opposite sex.

If a patient is under the age of 18, Dr. Ajayi encourages individual and family counseling and therapy aimed at improving self esteem as well as functioning within his or her biological gender.

He says, "If you have parents who allow the child to cross dress its possible they'll do it more or if a parent frowns on it there exists less tendency to do that."

It is important to note, in children medical professionals do not recommend hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery, what is also known as a sex change - because the child is still growing.

As for the Jefferson County case, this is a sensitive family issue.

Sources close to the case say the mother just wants her child to be happy.

Stay with News 9 on the air and on-line as we will continue to follow the case.

In the meantime, for more information on Gender Identity Disorders and transgender issues, www.webmd.com is a helpful tool.

Shelby Zarotney