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Therapy & support
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Therapy & support
Gross Motor Delay diagnosed — what to do first
After a Gross Motor Delay diagnosis, the best first steps are confirming the medical picture with your paediatrician, beginning paediatric physiotherapy to build strength, balance and coordination through play, and weaving movement into everyday routines. Early, consistent support makes a real difference. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMy child was diagnosed with Hearing Impairment — what should I do first?
After a hearing impairment diagnosis, the first steps are to confirm the type and degree of loss with your audiologist and ENT, act promptly on recommended hearing access such as hearing aids or a cochlear implant assessment, and begin communication and listening support early. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHypotonia (Low Muscle Tone): First Steps for Parents
A hypotonia diagnosis is a starting point for support, not a limit on your child's future. The first steps are to ask your paediatrician what is causing the low tone, begin paediatric physiotherapy and occupational therapy to build strength and movement, watch feeding and breathing, and keep your child active through daily play. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMy child was diagnosed with Intellectual Disability — what should I do first?
After a diagnosis of Intellectual Disability, the most helpful first steps are to understand the report calmly, review your child's health, and begin an early, strengths-based support plan blending adaptive-skills work, speech and occupational therapy, and school collaboration. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMotor Planning Difficulties: What to Do First
After a diagnosis of motor planning difficulties, take three first steps: understand that this is a brain-based difficulty with planning movement (not effort or intelligence), arrange a structured occupational-therapy and developmental assessment so support is precisely targeted, and begin gentle, repeated, playful practice at home. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMy child was just diagnosed as non-verbal / minimally verbal — what should I do first?
After a non-verbal or minimally verbal diagnosis, the first step is to begin communication support straightaway alongside a structured developmental profile, using a total-communication approach — speech, gestures, pictures and AAC. Offering AAC does not delay speech and often encourages it. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMy child was just diagnosed with ODD — what to do first
After an ODD diagnosis, first steps are to understand what the diagnosis means, protect your own calm, and connect with a clinician for a practical plan. ODD responds well to parent management training and behavioural therapy rather than punishment, and often sits alongside ADHD or anxiety that should also be understood. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerPersistent Toe-Walking: What to Do First
After a persistent toe-walking diagnosis, the most useful first step is to confirm the cause — whether a tight calf, a sensory preference, or an underlying reason — through a structured physiotherapy and developmental review, then begin early, gentle support if advised. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerFirst steps after a Prematurity-Related Developmental Risk note
Prematurity-Related Developmental Risk is not a diagnosis but a reason for closer developmental monitoring; many premature children thrive. First steps: use corrected age, keep high-risk follow-up appointments, protect the developmental basics, and arrange a gentle developmental check so any early support begins when it helps most. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerRett Syndrome Diagnosis — Your First Steps
After a Rett Syndrome diagnosis, the first steps are to understand the diagnosis with your specialist, build a coordinated medical and therapy team, and begin supportive therapies that protect movement, communication and comfort — including AAC and eye-gaze communication. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSchool Readiness Gap — First Steps for Parents
A school readiness gap means a child needs more time and support to build foundational classroom skills — attention, language, fine-motor, self-help and social play — not that they cannot succeed. The first steps are to understand which skills need support, begin early play-based help, and partner with the school. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSelective Mutism — What Should I Do First?
Selective mutism is a treatable anxiety-based condition — your child can speak but anxiety silences them in certain settings. The most helpful first step is to remove all pressure to talk, allow any form of communication, inform the school early, and begin structured, graded speech-language therapy promptly. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSelf-Regulation Difficulties — Your First Steps as a Parent
After a self-regulation difficulties diagnosis, pause and reframe — it is a teachable skill, not a flaw. Keep the report and a diary of triggers, build calm predictable routines and co-regulation at home, book a structured developmental assessment, and involve school. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do first after a Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity diagnosis
After a diagnosis of Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity, take three first steps: make mealtimes calm and pressure-free, ask your paediatrician to check growth and rule out medical factors, and book a feeding assessment so a therapist can map why your child refuses foods. Support is gentle and child-led, steadily widening accepted foods. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSensory Processing Differences — What to Do First
After a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Differences, start by observing your child's specific sensory triggers and soothers, making small calming adjustments at home, sharing strategies with family and school, and arranging a structured occupational therapy assessment. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMy child was just diagnosed with Separation Anxiety Disorder — what should I do first?
After a diagnosis of Separation Anxiety Disorder, the most helpful first steps are to stay calm, keep goodbyes short, warm and predictable, never sneak away, and practise small repeated separations so your child learns that parting is safe. This worry is highly treatable with gentle, consistent support. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMy child was just diagnosed with Social Communication Difficulties — what should I do first?
After a diagnosis of Social Communication Difficulties, the most helpful first step is to begin focused speech and language therapy with a clinician who works on social, real-world communication, and to support these skills through everyday play and routines. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSpecific Learning Disability diagnosis — your first steps
After a Specific Learning Disability diagnosis, first understand which specific skills are affected, partner early with your child's school for fair accommodations and a written learning plan, and begin evidence-based remedial support while protecting your child's confidence. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSpeech and Language Delay — Your First Steps
After a Speech and Language Delay diagnosis, the first steps are to understand the type of delay, check hearing, begin early play-based speech and language therapy, and become an active everyday communication partner at home. Early support is highly effective. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerStereotyped Movement Disorder: What to Do First
After a diagnosis of Stereotyped Movement Disorder, your first steps are to understand that these repetitive movements are usually self-soothing and harmless, check whether any movement risks injury, observe when they happen, and seek a clinician-led developmental profile so support is shaped around your child. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat To Do First After a Tourette Syndrome Diagnosis
After a Tourette Syndrome diagnosis, stay calm, learn that tics are involuntary, reduce pressure and attention around them, watch for accompanying anxiety or attention difficulties, and follow up with the diagnosing paediatrician, neurologist or child psychiatrist who manages this medical condition. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerFirst steps after a visual impairment diagnosis
After a visual impairment diagnosis, confirm and understand it fully with a paediatric ophthalmologist, learn what vision can be supported or corrected, and connect early with developmental and vision-support services so your child can explore the world through all their senses. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerMy partner and I disagree about our child's needs — what can we do?
When parents disagree about their child's needs, the most helpful step is to gather shared, objective information together rather than debate who is right. A neutral, clinician-led developmental assessment gives both parents the same picture to plan from. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerInclusive vs Special School
There is no universally right answer between inclusive mainstream and special school — the best setting depends on your child's strengths, support needs and how well a school can adapt to them. Many children thrive in mainstream with the right support; others benefit from a special school or a blended, changeable approach. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
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