High school student Leon had already chosen his new name by the time he summoned the courage to tell his parents he was transgender or trans — a moment he describes as "really scary".

That was two years ago when he was 14, and the Perth teenager is acutely aware he is one of the lucky ones. He is alive to tell his story.

Sadly, this has not always been the case for other trans youth, a new study has confirmed.

A report by the Telethon Kids Institute has found trans youth — young people who identify with a gender that does not match the sex assigned to them at birth — are at an alarmingly high risk for suicide and serious depression.

The Trans Pathways survey, which examined the mental health of trans young people, found almost 80 per cent (aged 14-25 years) had self-harmed, compared to almost 11 per cent of adolescents in the general Australian population.

A staggering 48 per cent had attempted suicide, compared with 2.4 per cent of adolescents in the general population.

Trans young people are also 10 times more likely to suffer from serious depression and anxiety than other young Australians.

Survey results a 'wake-up call'

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Senior researcher Dr Ashleigh Lin said the survey results were confronting and a wake-up call for governments to provide more support services.

What are some of the biggest problems? Trans youth have symptoms of depression almost 10 times the rate of the Australian average for young people

Trans youth have symptoms of depression almost 10 times the rate of the Australian average for young people They have anxiety disorders 10-13 times the rate of the average Australian young person

They have anxiety disorders 10-13 times the rate of the average Australian young person Once they seek help, 60 per cent have experienced feeling isolated from medical and mental health services

Once they seek help, 60 per cent have experienced feeling isolated from medical and mental health services Nearly a quarter had issues with accommodation, and a similar proportion had experienced physical abuse from within their own family Source: Trans Pathways Report

"The prevalence of anxiety and depression is higher than we expected and really quite concerning," she said.

"We heard from young people that they've had a lot of negative experiences, so very high rates of discrimination, peer rejection, bullying and issues at school and university.

"We heard about young people who couldn't get jobs because they didn't want to come out as trans, or young people who would be interviewed for jobs and then someone saw their birth certificate and wouldn't hire them.

"We heard about young people who couldn't finish school because of bad experiences at school or because their mental health was so poor."

"One of the other concerning results is that 22 per cent of young people had been homeless, or they'd had issues with accommodation.

"With these negative experiences, it's no wonder they're having such a hard time."

'Didn't want to wear a dress to school'

Leon said his parents quickly embraced his new identity as a boy after getting over their initial shock.

"It was really scary; it took me a while. I wanted to come out to everyone else before them," he said.

"They didn't take it well, they didn't understand because they'd never heard of it before and it was completely new to them."

Leon said he did not realise he was trans until he was 12 and started looking for answers online.

Before then he knew only that he did not want to wear a dress to school and preferred more masculine clothing.

Perth teenager Leon, 16, realised he was transgender when he was 12. ( ABC News: Marcus Alborn )

"I was really confused, I didn't know who I was, so I just took to the internet, what every 12-year-old does," he said.

"As soon as I started watching other transgender YouTubers, I saw myself in them, I could relate to that.

"The statistics in that report, I'm going to say they're pretty accurate in my friend group.

"There were always dark days — if it wasn't for being able to access resources, I definitely probably wouldn't be here. It's hard.

"I want all of the trans youth to know there's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with you."

"We're just people, regular people out in the world, people just need to see that."

'Normal, nuclear family' no more

Leon's parents, Michelle and David, desperately hope the report builds awareness about trans people, helping them to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.

Michelle recalls the day Leon broke the news to her "normal, nuclear family".

Dr Ashleigh Lin says the report’s findings are confronting and a wakeup call for governments. ( ABC News: Marcus Alborn )

"It was the hardest discussion I think any family could ever have," she said.

"From that moment on, I think I cried every day for about three months trying to process it, and for us it was new words, new environment, and we just didn't have access to any prior knowledge about how we should handle Leon as our child.

"The message I'd like to get out to other parents is number one, just listen, number two, just continue to love your child and do what feels right for you in loving that child."

David said he initially struggled with his son's admission.

"The first night, look, I went off. I wasn't happy, it's hard, really hard," he said.

"I think the important thing is for the whole community to understand what these kids have been and are going through.

"There's not enough information available for parents, Australian parents, to get Australian content and Australian information about the issue."

The study interviewed 859 trans young people, along with 194 parents and guardians of trans young people under 25.

It is not known what percentage of the Australian population is transgender, but overseas research suggests it could be as high as one per cent.