Zach Avery, 5, is now living as a girl after telling his parents at the age of three that he is trapped inside the wrong body. He is one of the youngest people in Britain to be diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, or GID, and has tried to cut his genitalia before.

Photographs of Zach Avery in the media show him wearing a pink cardigan, a purple dress and cuddling dolls. His blonde hair is done up in cute ponytails.

Theresa Avery and her husband Darren told the media that they decided to raise their 5-year-old son as a girl because doctors diagnosed him as a girl trapped in a boy's body. Zach Avery began refusing to be identified as boy at the age of three. Moreover, he became increasingly upset when anyone referred to him as a boy. Zach Avery expressed to his parents that preferred to wear girl's clothing.

He just turned round to me one day when he was three and said, 'Mummy, I'm a girl, Theresa Avery, 32, told the Mirror. I assumed he was just going through a phase and left it at that. But then it got serious and he would become upset if anyone referred to him as a boy.

Theresa Avery said she would love to have her son back, but she wants him to be happy.

If this is the route he wants to take, if this is what makes him happy, then so be it. I would rather him have my full support, she told The Telegraph. He likes playing with his sister's old toys but he still loves Dr. Who too and playing with his brother. And we still put some neutral clothes in his wardrobe if he ever decides he wants to wear them.

The mom said she leaves it up to Zach to decide what is it that he wants to do.

If he changes his mind and wants to be a boy again then he does, but if he doesn't, he doesn't. she said. People need to be aware of this condition because it's very common but even many family support workers have never heard of cases in children.

What is GID?

GID is a conflict between an individual's actual physical gender and the gender her or she identifies himself or herself as.

PubMed Health Web site stated that GID is not the same as homosexuality and that people with the disorder may act and present themselves to others as members of the opposite sex. GID may affect an individual's choice of sexual partners and may cause that person to act feminine or masculine and can affect the way that person dresses.

The symptoms of GID can be different according to age and may include feelings of disgust for one's genitalia and the belief that they will grow up to become members of the opposite sex. In adults, symptoms may include feeling alone, depression or anxiety to name a few. While in children, GID symptoms may include cross-dressing, showing habits of the opposite sex and a withdrawal from social interaction, according to PubMed Health.

Zach Avery Tried to Cut Penis Out of Frustration

Zach Avery has been living happily as a girl now for more than a year.

His mother told The Telegraph that before, Zach used to cry and tried to cut his penis off out of frustration. It was then that Darren, 41, took his son to a specialist at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London and he was diagnosed with GID after months of consultation.

Almost unrecognizable, Zach attends his classes wearing a girl's uniform and black boots with pink trim, the Mirror reported. His mother said the school has been very supportive of her son. The school has also ensured their bathrooms are gender-neutral.

We explained to the other kids at the school that Zachy's body was that of a boy but that in his brain he was a girl, Theresa Avery told the Mirror. We said Zach was just happier being a girl than a boy. But the other kids haven't batted an eyelid. They've accepted him and there's been no problems at the school with bullying. The school has been brilliant and really, really supportive.

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