is 7 young for a boy to masturbate

[dottyp82]

my DS (7) has ASD. he is obsessed with rubbing his genitals against things and has erections alot! he also has a thing about messing with his back passage too. is this a normal behavior for his age or could it be early onset of puberty?

I think (very tentatively) that in most boys interest in their genitals has subsided by 7 and comes back again when they reach puberty. Having said that, DS1 who has AS plays with his penis a lot and has erections. He is also sensory seeking and I see his behaviour as part of that. We have done a lot of work (social stories work well for us) about when it is ok to touch your penis (only in private), about not touching other people's genitals and not allowing anyone to touch yours. I've always taken the view that it is his body and I it would be wrong to stop him touching it. I've concentrated on teaching him (and helping him to internalise) the social rules about touching.

My DS had what I think was a stim. When he was excited (tv, video game etc) he would pinch his penis. I tried social stories but they didn't resolve it. He has now stopped doing it of is own accord.

We've noticed that too, mumofthree and we've wondered how to approach it. I may try social stories, but since he doesn't have a clue he's doing it, I'm going to hope it's a temporary stage and will go away soon!

He did it for a few years tbh, he also didn't realise he was doing it. when I mentioned it he uses the same reason that he uses for facial tics, its itchy. I tried not to make a big deal out of it but tbh i was concerned in case he was doing it in school, but it isn't really a subject I wanted to discuss with his teacher. He has only recently stopped doing it so it may come back.

DS2 has just realised that boys have a "winky" and girls don't. He's been asking everyone he knows if they are a boy or a girl and if they have a winky.

No it isn't too young, but it is too old to be accepted in public so you'll need to find a way of making sure he knows when it is acceptable.

My boy has been doing this since 7, but we have taught him "private time" - ie he can do it all he wants, but in his room alone. Actually despite his autism he caught on to this quite well, it just took a bit of blocking the activity, taking him upstairs, then saying the words clearly as shutting his bedroom door.

Could be a bit early but could equally be a developmental delay as having a fiddle with your bits is just as typical of toddlers as in puberty. Has it only started or restarted recently? Like niminy I think 7 would normally be in the latent phase of sexual development. Also as it goes alongside bottom scratching it may be more a sign of general sensory seeking behaviour.

My DH said it's not too young to be doing pseudo-masturbatory stuff at 7, the difference is that NF boys would be doing it secretly. I suppose he would know...!

Nope, at the risk of you all going I had my first orgasm at 6. It's all functioning at that age and perfectly possible.

Of course, I didn't really know what it was and it wasn't 'sexual' but still.....