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Joint Attention in Child Development
Joint attention is a toddler's ability to share focus on the same object or event with another person — by following a gaze or point, by pointing to show, or by looking back and forth between an object and a caregiver's face. It usually develops between 9 and 18 months and is a vital building block for social communication and language. It is not a test to pass but a natural skill that grows with playful sharing.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Jumping in child development?
Jumping is a gross-motor skill where a toddler pushes off the floor with both feet together and lands again, showing that leg strength, balance, body awareness and coordination are developing together. Most children begin jumping in place around 2 years and grow steadier through the third year. It is a normal, playful milestone, not a test — early attempts where the feet barely lift are perfectly typical, and every child finds their own pace.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Language Development in child development?
Language development is how a child grows the ability to understand words and ideas (receptive language) and to express thoughts and needs in words (expressive language). It spans listening, vocabulary, grammar, storytelling and the social back-and-forth of conversation. Between roughly 3 and 7 years, children move from short phrases to full sentences, questions and stories. It is not a diagnosis but a developmental thread that flourishes with rich talk, books and unhurried conversation — and early review helps where a gap appears.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Language in child development?
Language in child development is how a child understands and uses meaning to communicate — through words, gestures, sounds and sentences. It has two sides: receptive language (understanding) and expressive language (getting thoughts out). For toddlers it grows quickly from first words around the first birthday to short phrases by age two, and it is the foundation for thinking, learning and friendships. Understanding usually runs ahead of speaking, and steady progress matters more than any single milestone date.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Mainstream Readiness, and How Is It Built?
Mainstream readiness is how prepared a child is to learn, settle and thrive in a regular classroom alongside same-age peers. It is not a diagnosis or a pass-or-fail label, but a way of noticing the everyday skills a child has built — communication, attention, social and emotional skills, self-care, and early learning behaviours. Readiness is built, not fixed: it grows with playful, repeated practice at home, in nursery and through targeted support where needed, helping a capable child enjoy school from the very start.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is mainstream readiness, and why does it matter for my child?
Mainstream readiness describes how prepared a child is to learn, play and belong in a regular school, seen across communication, attention, social play, self-care, emotional regulation and early learning. It is a spectrum, not a pass-or-fail label. It matters because the right setting with the right support helps a child thrive — and where there are gaps, early focused help can build those skills so a mainstream classroom becomes an achievable, happy goal.
Read the answer AnswerManual Dexterity in Child Development
Manual dexterity is a child's ability to use their hands and fingers smoothly and accurately for everyday tasks — picking up small objects, holding a crayon, turning pages, fastening buttons or building with blocks. It is a key part of fine-motor development, blending hand strength, finger control and eye–hand coordination. Between 3 and 7 years these skills grow quickly through play, drawing and self-care, supporting handwriting and independence. It is not a diagnosis; differences noticed early are simply an invitation to add playful support.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Memory and Learning in child development?
Memory and learning is how a child takes in, stores and uses information — remembering faces, words, routines and rules, and building new skills from experience. It is a core cognitive ability (ICF b1) that grows steadily between ages 3 and 7, weaving together short-term, working and long-term memory with the ability to learn from repetition. It is not a diagnosis but a family of skills that flourish through play, routine and warm conversation, and early review protects a child's confidence.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Memory in child development?
Memory is a child's ability to take in, store and bring back information — recognising faces, recalling where toys are kept, and holding a small idea in mind to act on it. In the toddler years (1–3) it grows quickly through repetition, routine and warm everyday moments, and it supports language, play and learning. It is a building block of thinking, not a single taught skill, and every child develops it on their own timeline.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Mobility in child development?
Mobility in child development is a child's ability to control body position and move from place to place — rolling, crawling, standing, walking, climbing and running. In the toddler years it is the foundation for independent exploration, play and learning, drawing on balance, strength and coordination. It is not only about walking but about confident, purposeful movement, and each child follows their own timeline.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Motor Development in child development?
Motor development is how a child gradually gains control over body movements — gross motor skills like sitting, walking, climbing and jumping, and fine motor skills like grasping, scribbling and using a spoon. It unfolds in a broadly predictable order as the brain, muscles and senses grow together, though every child follows their own timeline. It is a core thread of early childhood development, not a test to pass, and steady forward progress matters more than exact ages.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is motor development in children?
Motor development is the way children gradually gain control over their muscles and movements — from gross motor skills like sitting, crawling and walking to fine motor skills like grasping and drawing. It unfolds in a broadly predictable sequence (head to toe, centre outward) as the brain, nerves and muscles mature together, with each child progressing at their own pace.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Motor Planning Difficulties?
Motor Planning Difficulties (dyspraxia) describe trouble with praxis — the brain's ability to conceive, organise and execute new or unfamiliar movement sequences — despite normal strength and reflexes. Early features include clumsiness, slow learning of new physical skills, difficulty with multi-step tasks like dressing, and sometimes speech that is hard to plan. It is an idea-to-action challenge, not weakness, and responds well to occupational and speech therapy support.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Motor Planning Difficulties, and what are its ICD-11 features in early childhood?
Motor planning difficulty (dyspraxia) is impaired ideation, sequencing and execution of novel goal-directed movement with preserved strength and tone. It maps to ICD-11 6A04 Developmental Motor Coordination Disorder: motor skills substantially below age expectation, developmental onset, functional impact, and exclusion of neurological, intellectual or sensory causes.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Motor Planning Difficulties, and what does it look like in early childhood?
Motor planning (praxis) is the brain's ability to think up, organise and carry out a new or multi-step movement. In children with motor planning difficulties, strength is fine but sequencing the steps is hard — so movements look clumsy or hesitant. It shows as trips, struggling with new actions, dressing or building, and needing extra repetition to learn skills.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Motor readiness, and how is it built?
Motor readiness is a child's developing ability to control and coordinate the body — both the bigger movements of sitting, crawling and walking (gross motor) and the smaller, precise hand movements (fine motor). It is not a pass-or-fail test but a way of noticing how the building blocks of movement are coming together for a child's age. It grows naturally through everyday play — tummy time, reaching, floor play and climbing — with repetition, encouragement and safe space to move.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is motor readiness, and why does it matter for my child?
Motor readiness is a child's developing ability to control and coordinate their body — both the big movements like sitting, crawling and walking (gross motor) and the small, precise movements like grasping and holding a crayon (fine motor) — at a level that matches their growth. It matters because these movement skills are the foundation for feeding, dressing, play, social confidence and early learning. When motor foundations are steady, a child can focus their energy on exploring and learning rather than struggling with their body.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Motor Skills in Child Development?
Motor skills are the abilities a child builds to move and control their body. They come in two kinds: gross-motor skills, using the big muscles for sitting, crawling, walking and climbing; and fine-motor skills, using the small muscles of the hands for grasping, pointing, stacking and feeding. In the toddler years these grow quickly and lay the groundwork for play, independence and later learning. Children develop along their own timelines, and noticing a difference early is simply an invitation to add support, not a label.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is music therapy?
Music therapy is the planned, goal-led use of music — singing, rhythm, instruments and listening — by a trained therapist to support a child's communication, attention, emotional regulation, movement and social connection. Each activity is chosen to work towards a specific developmental goal and progress is tracked, so it is far more than playing songs for fun. Children need no musical talent to benefit, and it is often woven alongside speech and occupational therapy rather than used alone.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Non-Verbal in child development?
Non-verbal in child development describes a toddler who is not yet using spoken words, though they may communicate through gestures, sounds, eye contact and play. It is a description of a stage, not a diagnosis or a lifelong label. Between 12 and 36 months spoken language emerges on very different timelines, and many non-verbal children go on to talk or use other communication tools with the right support. Watching the building blocks beneath words — pointing, shared attention, gestures — matters more than word count alone.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Non-Verbal / Minimally Verbal Presentation?
Non-verbal or minimally verbal presentation describes a child who uses few or no spoken words — a communication pattern, not a diagnosis, seen across autism, developmental delay, apraxia and hearing differences. Understanding (receptive language) may be far ahead of speech. The priority is building communication now through gestures, pictures, sign or devices (AAC), and identifying the underlying reason. Hearing and developmental review is the right first step.
Read the answer AnswerNon-Verbal / Minimally Verbal Presentation
Non-verbal / minimally verbal presentation is a descriptive functional profile — no or very limited spoken words — not a diagnosis. ICD-11 captures it via autism (6A02) severity qualifiers, developmental speech/language disorders (6A01) and the ICF, with hearing loss excluded first and AAC introduced early.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Non-Verbal / Minimally Verbal Presentation?
Non-verbal or minimally verbal presentation describes a child who uses very few or no spoken words at an age when more speech is expected. It is a description of how a child communicates today, not a diagnosis. Many such children understand well and communicate through gestures, sounds, signs, pictures or devices, and the first step is always understanding why.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy (OT) helps children build the everyday skills that make up the 'work' of childhood — playing, dressing, feeding, writing, handling textures and sounds, and managing emotions. An occupational therapist assesses how a child's body, senses and movement-planning work together, then uses purposeful, play-based activities to grow independence and confidence. Unlike speech therapy, OT is about practical 'doing' — fine motor, sensory processing, self-care and attention skills that help a child thrive at home, in play and at school.
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