how old will my grandson have to be to be tested

My grandson is 2 years old today, He is throwing tantrums in which he will head-butt the walls, floors or anything in sight. He cannot take the word no as an answer to anything. He cannot cope in a crowd and is constantly hitting other kids and adults for no reason and anything he has in his hands like toys are used as weapons so he knows it hurts. Instead of walking he runs everywhere and totally ignores anyone who calls him by name. Feeding times are extremely stressful as when he has had enough he just throws the food at everyone and pours his drinks out all over the place. He hurls his toys at people and we are afraid that someday soon he will hurt someone. .We have never come across this behaviour before and are at our wits end as no advice seems available to us. Can you help?

[William L. Holcomb, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

Since you are his grandparent, I will assume that your grandson’s parents share your concerns.  I definitely recommend that they take your grandson to his pediatrician immediately and discuss what you have described.  Based on your description, I imagine your grandson’s doctor will refer him for further assessment and treatment.  I recommend that you ask the pediatrician for help in finding an assessment team familiar with young children and autism spectrum disorders (ASD).  The pediatrician should also refer you to a local Early Intervention Program (EIP) for screening.  

The behaviors you are describing may be the early signs of ASD, particularly if your child’s pediatrician has ruled out other factors (e.g., hearing problems).  Below are several websites with information about autism spectrum disorders (both specific to early identification and information regarding the best treatment for ASDs).  You may find it helpful to review these sites to see if you think you need to take your son in for further assessment.  If you think that your son is on the spectrum, then it is important to get help as soon as possible.  Again, I would look to your local governmental agencies (medical, educational, child welfare) to see if there are any services you can take advantage of.  


About.com Pediatrics
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyquestion/a/04_signs_autism.htm
American Academy of Pediatrics
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/Autism.cfm
First Signs
http://www.firstsigns.org/

In the meantime, independent of your grandson’s diagnosis, it sounds like there are a number of problem behaviors that require help in managing.  

One other thing you could do is look into finding a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) to help with the behavior problems.  Based on your description of the behavior of your grandson, I strongly recommend that a BCBA be a part of an education and treatment team.  You can go to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s website (http://www.bacb.com/) to see if there is one near where you live; or at least to see what types of qualifications you should be looking for in someone to help you. Another website with a great deal of information on a behavior analytic approach to working with children can be found at the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies (http://www.behavior.org/).