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Social
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Signs & concerns
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Signs & concerns
What are the signs of social delay in a 5-year-old?
By five, most children make friends, take turns, share pretend games and read simple feelings. Gentle signs worth a check include little interest in other children, one-sided conversation, difficulty taking turns or joining group play, and trouble reading feelings. This is reason to assess early — not a diagnosis — because support at this age works beautifully.
Read the answer AnswerSigns of social delay in a 6-to-9-month-old
By 6–9 months most babies are sharing smiles, turning to your voice, enjoying peek-a-boo and recognising familiar faces. Reasons to seek a gentle developmental check include rarely smiling back, not responding to your voice, little eye contact or shared joy, being hard to engage in back-and-forth play, or losing a social skill once had. This is not a diagnosis — babies vary widely — but an early calm look helps, because support works beautifully at this age.
Read the answer AnswerWhat are the signs of social delay in a 6-year-old?
By six, most children make and keep friends, take turns, share, follow simple rules and read basic feelings. Signs that a developmental check may help include difficulty joining or sustaining peer play, struggling with turn-taking, missing social cues like tone and facial expression, very one-sided conversations, or strong distress with friendship give-and-take. These are reasons to assess gently — not a diagnosis — because early social support works best.
Read the answer AnswerWhat are the signs of social delay in a 9-to-12-month-old?
Between 9 and 12 months, most babies share smiles, respond to their name, wave, point and enjoy peek-a-boo. Gentle signs worth a developmental check include little eye contact or shared smiling, no response to name, no babbling or gestures, and little interest in simple social games. These are reasons to look closely early — not a diagnosis — because support at this age works wonderfully.
Read the answer AnswerWhat are the signs of social delay in a newborn?
There is no meaningful checklist of social delay in a newborn — connection emerges gradually. In the first 3 months, watch for warm cues like settling to your voice, looking at faces, and the first social smile around 6–8 weeks. If by 2–3 months your baby doesn't smile back, look at faces, or respond to your voice — or if you worry about hearing or alertness — arrange a calm developmental check. This is early reassurance and monitoring, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerConduct-Dissocial Disorder red flags for referral in young children
Refer a young child for Conduct-Dissocial Disorder (ICD-11 6C91) assessment when a persistent, repetitive pattern of aggression, cruelty, deceit or serious rule violation lasts beyond 6–12 months, spans settings, and exceeds normal oppositionality — most urgently with harm risk, fire-setting, cruelty to animals, or callous-unemotional traits.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for ODD Warranting Referral
Refer for ODD when angry/irritable mood, argumentative-defiant behaviour and vindictiveness persist 6+ months across multiple settings with functional impairment — most days under age 5, at least weekly thereafter. Always screen for comorbidity, conduct disorder and safeguarding concerns.
Read the answer AnswerSocial Communication Difficulties: Clinical Red Flags for Referral
Refer when social use of language — reciprocity, adjusting to listener, reading inference and context — is impaired across settings, exceeds developmental expectation, and isn't explained by hearing loss, global delay, or autism with restricted/repetitive behaviour. Persistent parent or teacher concern is itself a sufficient trigger.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can biting in a child point to?
Biting in young children is usually normal toddler behaviour driven by teething, oral exploration, frustration and limited language. It points to a developmental condition only when persistent beyond the toddler years, intense, across settings, or clustered with communication, sensory or regulation red flags — when it warrants structured developmental profiling.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can defiance and saying no point to?
Persistent, pervasive defiance is a final common pathway — not a diagnosis. It can reflect language difficulty, ADHD, autism, sensory processing differences, anxiety, intellectual difficulty, or oppositional defiant disorder. Situational refusal in toddlers and teens is normal; refer when refusal is disproportionate, persistent across settings, and functionally impairing.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can difficulty sharing point to?
Difficulty sharing is developmentally normal below ~3 years and is rarely meaningful in isolation. It becomes clinically relevant only when it persists beyond age-expectation, spans settings, and clusters with other signs — when it may be one marker within autism, ADHD, social-communication difficulty, or a regulation/attachment picture rather than a diagnosis itself.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can extreme shyness in a child point to?
Extreme, impairing shyness can surface several conditions — social anxiety disorder, selective mutism, autism spectrum (especially masking girls), social-pragmatic communication or language disorder, and sensory processing differences. Most shy children are simply temperamentally reserved; refer when shyness is pervasive, impairing, or paired with communication or sensory red flags.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can hitting others point to?
Hitting others is a non-specific behavioural signal, not a diagnosis. In young children it is often normative frustration or limited language, but when frequent, intense, persistent beyond age 4–5, or present across settings it can point to language delay, autism, ADHD, sensory modulation difficulties, or global developmental delay — warranting structured assessment.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can limited eye contact in a child point to?
Limited eye contact in a child most often prompts consideration of autism spectrum disorder, but also appears with social communication and language difficulties, sensory processing differences, anxiety, and must be distinguished from visual impairment, hearing loss, global delay, and typical variation. Interpret it within a fuller social-communication picture and refer when it persists across settings with other signs.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can not playing with other children point to?
Reduced peer play is a non-specific social signal, not a diagnosis. It can point to autism spectrum disorder, social communication difficulty, language delay, hearing impairment, anxiety or selective mutism, ADHD, or intellectual/global delay. Interpret against the expected stage of play and refer when the gap persists across settings or co-occurs with other red flags.
Read the answer AnswerWhat developmental conditions can running off in public point to?
Running off in public (elopement) is a transdiagnostic behavioural sign, not a diagnosis. It most often points to autism spectrum disorder, ADHD-type impulsivity, intellectual or global developmental delay, or communication impairment. Given the safety risk, it warrants prompt structured developmental review rather than watchful waiting.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does a delay in Attachment mean for my child?
A delay in attachment means your toddler's trusting bond with you is forming more slowly or differently — not that it cannot grow. At 12–36 months, watch for limited comfort-seeking, little checking back to you, few shared smiles, or going indiscriminately to strangers. These are reasons for a gentle developmental check, not a diagnosis, because responsive early support works best at this age.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does a delay in Conflict mean for my child?
For a 12–36 month-old, managing conflict — sharing, turn-taking, recovering after upset — is a slowly emerging skill, not a finished ability. A delay usually means your child needs more time and gentle coaching, often because the language and self-regulation behind it are still catching up. It is not a diagnosis; it is a helpful reason for an early, calm developmental check, because support works beautifully at this age.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does a delay in Conflict Resolution mean for my child?
A delay in Conflict Resolution means your 3-to-7-year-old is still learning to handle disagreements — sharing, turn-taking, naming feelings, compromising — a little later than peers. At these ages big emotions are very normal and this is a skill in progress, not a diagnosis. Seek a gentle developmental check if conflicts are frequent and intense, hard to soothe, affecting friendships or learning, or travelling with speech or social delays. Early support works beautifully.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does a delay in engagement mean for my child?
Engagement is how your toddler tunes in to people — sharing looks, smiles, sounds and back-and-forth play. A delay means these social connections are emerging more slowly than expected, not a diagnosis. It is a reason for an early, gentle developmental check between 12 and 36 months, because connection skills respond beautifully to early support.
Read the answer AnswerWhat a Delay in Eye-Contact Means for Your Child
Eye-contact is a toddler's early way of sharing attention and connection. A delay between 12 and 36 months can reflect temperament, culture or a busy moment, but when it comes with few words, no response to name, or limited shared smiles and pointing, it is a gentle reason to arrange a developmental check. This is a reason to look early, not a diagnosis — and early support works best at this age.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does a delay in Family Bonding mean for my child?
A delay in family bonding (ICF d760) means a child aged 3–7 is taking longer to form warm, secure, give-and-take relationships — seeking comfort, sharing joy, responding to affection. It is a reason to look closely, not a diagnosis or a reflection of your love. With gentle, relationship-first support most children build warmer, more responsive bonds.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does a delay in Family Organization mean for my child?
A delay in Family Organization (ICF d760) means your child may need extra support to join family routines, transitions, turn-taking and shared expectations — not a diagnosis. For 3–7 year olds, watch for a settled day-after-day pattern rather than ordinary off days, and arrange a gentle developmental check, because early, play-based support strengthens participation in family life.
Read the answer AnswerWhat does a delay in Imagination mean for my child?
Between 12 and 36 months, pretend and make-believe play blossoms in big leaps, and every child arrives at their own pace. A delay in imagination — slower to feed a doll, pretend a block is a car, or copy everyday actions — is not a diagnosis but a gentle reason to observe. Seek a developmental check if pretend play is largely absent by around two years or travels with delays in talking, eye contact, pointing or responding to name. Early support at this age works beautifully.
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