13 year old's abnormal behavior

my 13 year old son has a learning disability and is developmentally delayed. He behaves more like a 10-11 year old. he has recently been discovered putting object ie. ends of a q-tip in his anal area. we do not know what to do. he understands this is not what my husband and I consider normal and he can see that we get very upset at this behavior. he hides doing it so he knows it is wrong. what should we do?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Pam,

From a behavior management point of view, I would continue to set limits on the behavior, as you have been doing. I'd also arrange an appointment with his pediatrician, both to have him examined and to have the pediatrician talk with your son about the risks of such behavior (relative to causing an injury or irritation).

Beyond this, it would be sensible to have an evaluation with a mental health professional, at the very least to assess this situation and to take a look at your son's overall psychological development.

[christianw]

A related discussion, 12 year old boy smearing poop was started.