Are we talking about a two-year-old on the spectrum? If so, timeout is not likely to work. For ASD kids, negative reinforcement almost always fails.

For some high-functioning kids, you can give it a try, as long as it is immediate and consistent, you might get some results. But you also might not get any results at all.

It has to do with the way they think, which is very linear. Even if you ask a kid why he is being punished, and he parrots back: "Because I threw the toy," he might still not be making the connection.

While they are being punished, ASD kids can think about being punished, or about what they did, but not both at the same time.

With our son, when he throws things, we have to correct and redirect. We tell him which toys not to throw, and tell him which toys are OK to throw. (We keep around foam balls and ball-pit balls for just that purpose.)

If he continues to throw the prohibited toys, then we have to take it out of his hand, or walk him over and have him pick it up where it landed.

This last tactic only marginally effective, because he usually throws it again, and starts to melt down. Don't give up, though. After nine or ten throws, he will actually make the connection, because it is linear thinking: Where-ever he throws certain toys, he has to go and pick them up.

Good luck. Correcting bad behaviors is not easy, but there are some good books out there, and some good websites that outline how to use ABA methods.

I've read that time outs should be as many minutes as the child's age. (See "1-2-3 Magic" for more on Time-Outs).

My son was two and we started with timeouts. We would walk him to the time out step and tell him what he did wrong. Explain to him that he can not do that anymore. I make it sound like the rule is you can not .....so then I tell himwhat he should or can do instead. I time bim a minute for each year. Befor I walk away I tell heim that he needs to think about what ive said. I come back and say it all again. Have him apologize and hug nd then send him on his way . H has learned to put himself in a time out if he feels overwhelmed. He picked a different spot in the house for his own timeout. We leave him alone when he does that. He joins us when he is ready.

Throwing a ball, outside, or in a basket....etc...is okay though.

Encourage him to "throw" or toss or drop toys into a toy box. Expand this to put clothes into hamper,dishes into cabinet or dishwasher etc.