Charlene, from the age of two on I had no doubt there was more going on than the terrible twos. At age four (FINALLY), he was diagnosis ADHD and ODD by a child psychiatrist. She was appalled at the things he would do at that young age. He tortured our Dalmatian, made me black and blue, screamed at me, wouldn't stay in his car seat, etc. He's always loved the outdoors, so I had dead bolts on the exterior doors so he wouldn't run out. We've not had even one really quiet day since we adopted him at 1 day old. When I'm with other children I realize that I've forgotten how grown-up an eleven year old should be and how much fun it can be to not have to discipline every single day. There are those who say he shouldn't be disciplined every day, but how does one let this horrible behavior be ignored? Yes, I pick my battles......I'm only talking about the serious stuff.
There are others you will find who have benefited greatly from behavior modifications. Your child may, too. In our case he was medicated so that he could even catch my eye while I was trying to work with him on behavior mods. Nothing has ever worked, but we still try. 'Guess we'll never give up. Your little one is so little. Have as many good times as you can find. They are ALL precious despite the difficulties and I know how much you love him, as I do mine.