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Concern
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Signs & concerns
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Signs & concerns
When should I worry about Fine Motor Delay at 6?
By six, fine motor skills like writing, cutting and buttoning should be settling for school. Worry — and seek a check — when your child consistently avoids or tires at these tasks, can't manage a mature pencil grasp or most letters, struggles with self-care peers manage, or lags clearly across several skills. A persistent pattern across settings, not one wobbly skill, is the signal to act.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about genetic syndromes in my 6-year-old?
Most genetic or chromosomal syndromes are noticed before six, as a pattern of features rather than one sign. By six, worry less about a single late skill and more about a cluster — distinctive features, slow growth, recurrent medical issues, ongoing learning delays or lost skills appearing together. A clinician review brings clarity.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about Global Developmental Delay at 6?
By age six, a child can be assessed more fully than the under-five term GDD allows. Worry is reasonable if your child lags across several areas at once — learning, language, movement, self-care. That is a reason to check, not a diagnosis. Only a Pinnacle clinician can confirm what it means.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry that my 6-year-old might have Gross Motor Delay?
By six, most children run, jump, hop on one foot, climb and catch a ball with confidence. Seek a developmental check if your child still trips often, can't balance or hop, avoids running and climbing, tires far faster than peers, or struggles with stairs and ball games. These are reasons to assess — not a diagnosis — because early support works best.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry my 6-year-old has hearing impairment?
By six, persistent mishearing, asking for repetition, loud TV, not responding when called, or falling behind in classroom listening are signs worth a hearing check. Many causes are treatable, and early assessment helps. Only a clinician can confirm hearing impairment.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry my 6-year-old has low muscle tone?
By six, most children have the strength and stamina for a full school day. It is worth a check if your child seems persistently floppy or low in tone — loose joints, poor posture, frequent fatigue, clumsiness, or trouble with stairs and handwriting. Hypotonia is a sign, not a diagnosis: a clinician finds the cause and supports strength and skill.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry my 6-year-old has Intellectual Disability?
Worry is reasonable, but worry is not a diagnosis. At six, the flag is a lasting pattern of slower learning and weaker everyday skills across both home and school — not one hard day. Other causes are checked first, and only a clinician can confirm. Early assessment is the hopeful next step.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about Motor Planning Difficulties at 6?
At 6, mild clumsiness is normal. Motor planning difficulties are worth checking when several signs persist beyond a few months, appear across home and school, and affect daily life or confidence — messy handwriting, trouble learning new physical tasks, slow dressing, avoiding physical play. This is about how movement is organised, not intelligence. Only a clinician can assess.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry that my 6-year-old might have a non-verbal or minimally verbal presentation?
By six, most children speak in fluent sentences, so very limited or absent speech is a clear reason to seek a developmental check now rather than wait. Limited speech does not mean limited understanding or potential — the goal of assessment is to find why speech is limited and give the child a reliable way to communicate, including AAC. Only a Pinnacle clinician can assess what's underneath.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry my 6-year-old has ODD?
At six, plenty of arguing and limit-testing is normal. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ICD-11 6C90) is considered only when an angry, defiant, argumentative pattern is frequent, persistent (around six months), more intense than expected for the age, present across more than one setting, and clearly straining family, friendships or learning. It's a pattern to observe and discuss — only a Pinnacle clinician can assess, never an online form.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about persistent toe-walking at 6?
Most children outgrow toe-walking before six, so persistent toe-walking at this age warrants a calm, planned check — especially if it happens most of the time, affects both feet, or comes with tight heel cords. It's often harmless habit, but six is the right moment to rule out muscle or neurological causes. Only a clinician can assess what's underneath.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry that my 6-year-old might have Prematurity-Related Developmental Risk?
By six, most children born early are thriving, but full-time school reveals subtler differences. Seek a developmental check if your child is clearly and persistently behind classmates in learning, attention, language, movement or emotional regulation — across home and school, not just one hard week. Worry isn't the aim; a clear picture is.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about Rett Syndrome in my 6-year-old?
Rett Syndrome almost always appears far earlier than age 6 — usually between 6 and 18 months — with a distinctive loss of purposeful hand use and spoken words after early normal development. A 6-year-old who has developed and kept her speech, hand skills and play is very unlikely to have it. What always deserves a prompt check at any age is loss of skills she once had — not a diagnosis, but a reason for clinical review.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about a school readiness gap at 6?
A school readiness gap at six is worth checking when difficulties with routines, listening, early learning, attention or social skills persist beyond the settling-in weeks and appear both at home and school. It is a reason to assess early, not to panic — most gaps respond very well to timely, targeted support.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about Selective Mutism at 6?
Take a closer look when your 6-year-old talks freely at home but is consistently silent in specific settings like school, and this has lasted more than about a month beyond the settling-in period — and is affecting learning, friendships or activities. Selective mutism is an anxiety-based, very treatable difficulty, not defiance or a phase to ignore. Only a Pinnacle clinician can assess; never an online form.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about self-regulation difficulties at 6?
At six, some difficulty managing feelings, waiting and recovering from upset is normal. Worry — and seek a developmental check — when difficulties are frequent, intense, span home and school over weeks, and disrupt friendships, learning or family life. Only a clinician can assess what's underneath.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about feeding selectivity in my 6-year-old?
Most six-year-olds are picky, and a short favourites list is normal. Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity becomes a concern when the pattern is persistent and limiting — a shrinking food range, strong sensory reactions, refused food groups, mealtime distress, or effects on growth and nutrition. Impact and duration matter more than fussiness alone. Only a Pinnacle clinician can assess; never an online form.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry that my 6-year-old might have Sensory Processing Differences?
Worry is reasonable, but a single hard day is not a diagnosis. At six, the real flag is a persistent pattern of sensory over-reaction, under-reaction or seeking that disrupts school, sleep or routines. Only a clinician can confirm whether this is a sensory difference, and early support works well.
Read the answer AnswerWhen Should I Worry About Separation Anxiety in My 6-Year-Old?
Some separation worry is normal at six, especially around new routines. Consider Separation Anxiety Disorder when the fear is intense, lasts about a month or more, and disrupts school, sleep and daily life. Persistent distress across settings deserves a clinician's gentle check — only a Pinnacle clinician can assess, never an online form.
Read the answer AnswerWhen to worry about Social Communication Difficulties at 6
At six, worry enough to seek a check when your child consistently struggles with the social use of language — taking turns, reading tone and body language, adjusting how they speak, and sharing back-and-forth play — despite fine words and grammar. This is not a diagnosis; it signals that a structured developmental look is wise now, because early, school-age support works best.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry my 6-year-old has a Specific Learning Disability?
At six, some stumbling with reading, writing and maths is normal as these skills begin. Worry is reasonable when difficulties persist across a school term, are out of step with your child's clear intelligence, and aren't explained by another cause. Worry is a reason to screen, not a diagnosis — only a clinician can confirm SLD.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry about speech and language delay at 6?
By six, most children speak clearly in full sentences, follow multi-step instructions and tell simple stories. Worry is reasonable when difficulties persist, are hard for others to understand, or affect school. A hearing check and a clinician assessment bring clarity — only a qualified clinician can confirm a delay.
Read the answer AnswerWhen to Worry About Stereotyped Movement in a 6-Year-Old
Repetitive movements like rocking, flapping or spinning are common in children and usually harmless. Stereotyped Movement Disorder (ICD-11 6A06) is considered only when movements are frequent, driven, purposeless, persist across settings and interfere with daily life or cause physical harm. A single movement is never a diagnosis — only a Pinnacle clinician can assess. Movements with absences, stiffening or loss of awareness need a prompt medical review.
Read the answer AnswerWhen should I worry that my 6-year-old might have Tourette Syndrome?
Brief, single tics around ages 5–7 are common and usually pass. Tourette Syndrome is considered only when a child has multiple motor tics plus at least one vocal tic, lasting over a year and beginning before 18. At six, seek a check when tics are persistent, varied, distressing or affecting school and friendships — and remember tics are involuntary, never to be disciplined. Only a Pinnacle clinician can assess, never an online form.
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