Children at the two-year-old developmental stage, are all about
impulse. Normally, goal of disciplinary measures is to teach a
child that there are consequences to their actions. Because they
don't process cause-and-effect the way an adult does, discipline to
a child at this stage, regardless of chronological age, means
something entirely different. Discipline at this stage should be
more about redirection. Changing their focus is often all that is
needed. If the child is capable of learning, they will eventually
get the message that doing whatever it is they were doing, is not
appropriate. Children may get frustrated and act out when you
attempt to shift them from one thing to another, so read up on
strategies to handle these outbursts. Puberty brings about not only
physical changes, but emotional changes as well. You may find the
child needs more sleep than they used to, and may be more
emotionally labile. This will especially be true because non-verbal
children are frequently frustrated from being unable to express the
confusing feelings he or she is going through during this turbulent
phase of a child's life. A peri-pubertal child at this
developmental stage, may have difficulty processing normal societal
inhibitions when it comes to masturbation and expressions of his or
her sexuality. As such, you may need to pre-plan your responses to
things like inappropriate erections or displays of autoeroticism in
public. You will need to be alert for things that may trigger such
a response in the child, so you can avoid them. Be aware too, that
children reaching sexual maturity in advance of their mental
development, are at much greater risk for exploitation. There are
many resources for parents of developmentally disabled children,
but you have to be your child's best advocate because the system is
designed to help the maximum number of people for the minimum cost.
There are support groups popping up on the Internet all the time, a
simple search will yield many positive results. Be strong and
vigilant, and bless you for taking on such a vital and difficult
role.