Gratification disorder (also known as "infantile masturbation", despite occurring in children as old as 10, or sometimes ''benign idiopathic infantile dyskinesia'') is a form of

masturbatory Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...

behavior that has often been mistaken for

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

, abdominal pain, and

paroxysmal Paroxysmal attacks or paroxysms (from Greek παροξυσμός) are a sudden recurrence or intensification of symptoms, such as a spasm or seizure. These short, frequent symptoms can be observed in various clinical conditions. They are usually ...

dystonia Dystonia is a neurological hyperkinetic movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions result in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed postures. The movements may resemble a tremor. Dystonia is often intens ...

dyskinesia Dyskinesia refers to a category of movement disorders that are characterized by involuntary muscle movements, including movements similar to tics or chorea and diminished voluntary movements. Dyskinesia can be anything from a slight tremor of ...

. Little research has been published regarding this

early childhood Early childhood is a stage in human development following infancy and preceding middle childhood. It generally includes toddlerhood and some time afterward. Play age is an unspecific designation approximately within the scope of early childhood. ...

condition. However, most

pediatricians Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

agree that masturbation is a normal and common behavior in pre-teens and should be recognized as such. Failure to recognize this behavior can lead to unnecessary and invasive testing. Though the behavior may be confused with a seizure, cessation following a distraction and intact consciousness during an episode would suggest that this is not a seizure. The behavior tends to diminish with age.

References

Pediatrics Sexology Child sexuality {{sex-stub