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Signs & concerns
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Signs & concerns
Clinical Red Flags for Developmental Language Disorder
Refer when expressive and/or receptive language is persistently below age expectation, functionally limiting, and not explained by hearing loss, global delay, autism or a known condition — most urgently with any language regression, no babble or gesture by 12 months, no single words by 16 months, or no two-word phrases by 24 months.
Read the answer AnswerClinical red flags for developmental regression warranting referral
Any genuine loss of previously acquired skills — language, social, motor or self-help — at any age warrants prompt referral, not observation. Regression flags treatable and time-sensitive conditions (neurometabolic, epileptic, neurodegenerative) and needs urgent medical investigation alongside developmental assessment, especially with seizures or progressive decline.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Developmental Trauma Warranting Referral
Refer a young child for developmental trauma assessment when pervasive dysregulation of affect, attention, attachment or physiology persists across settings and is disproportionate to circumstances — especially with known or suspected abuse, neglect or disrupted caregiving. Safeguard first; refer early.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Down Syndrome Warranting Referral
Refer when characteristic craniofacial and physical features coexist with generalised hypotonia and global developmental delay — most urgently where a newborn karyotype was never obtained. Confirm genetically and screen actively for cardiac, hearing, vision, thyroid and GI conditions per AAP guidance, initiating early intervention in parallel.
Read the answer AnswerDyscalculia: clinical red flags for referral in young children
Refer when number difficulties are persistent, disproportionate to age and ability, and present across settings — weak subitising and magnitude comparison, unstable counting, persistent finger-counting, no fact retrieval, plus early maths anxiety. Formal dyscalculia is specified from ~7 years; in younger children monitor precursors and refer early when the gap is marked.
Read the answer AnswerDysgraphia red flags warranting referral in young children
Refer when a young child's handwriting and written output are persistently and disproportionately impaired relative to age, schooling and ability — illegibility, awkward grip, fatigue, and a marked oral-versus-written gap — and not explained by visual, motor or instructional causes. A firm dysgraphia label waits until adequate formal instruction (~age 6–8).
Read the answer AnswerDyslexia red flags warranting referral in young children
Refer when phonological and pre-literacy markers — poor rhyme and sound awareness, slow letter learning, word-retrieval difficulty, plus family history — persist despite adequate instruction and are discrepant with cognition. Rule out hearing, vision and global delay; formal dyslexia is reliably determined only from around age 6–8.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties Warranting Referral
In young children, emotional and behavioural difficulties warrant referral when distress or dysregulation is persistent (>6 months), pervasive across settings, developmentally excessive, and functionally impairing — affecting attachment, play, sleep, feeding or learning. Any self-injury, risk to others, regression, or safeguarding concern lowers the threshold to urgent referral. Mild, situational behaviours in a thriving child usually respond to parent-guided support with watchful review.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Feeding & Eating Difficulties
Refer for feeding & eating difficulty when it threatens airway safety, growth, hydration or nutrition, or persists beyond a transient phase. Act most urgently on aspiration signs (coughing, choking, wet voice, colour change), faltering growth, or acute refusal with dehydration. Safety concerns warrant same-week medical and SLT review.
Read the answer AnswerFASD Red Flags for Referral in Young Children
Refer for FASD assessment when growth restriction, sentinel facial features (short palpebral fissures, smooth philtrum, thin upper lip) and CNS dysfunction co-occur — especially with confirmed or suspected prenatal alcohol exposure. Persistent neurobehavioural difficulty with a positive exposure history warrants referral even without the full facial phenotype.
Read the answer AnswerFine Motor Delay: Clinical Red Flags Warranting Referral
Refer a young child for fine motor delay when there is persistent asymmetry of hand use, loss of acquired skills, fisting beyond 3-4 months, no purposeful reach by 5-6 months, absent pincer grasp by ~12 months, or fine motor function discordant with gross motor and language progress. Regression, marked tonal abnormality or early hand preference before 18 months warrant prompt paediatric and developmental-therapy referral.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Genetic / Chromosomal Syndromes
Refer a young child for genetic/syndromic evaluation when developmental delay co-occurs with structural red flags — two or more dysmorphic features, congenital anomaly, disproportionate growth, hypotonia, or a suggestive family history. Global delay with dysmorphism warrants clinical genetics referral and first-tier chromosomal microarray.
Read the answer AnswerClinical red flags for Global Developmental Delay warranting referral
Refer for Global Developmental Delay when a child under 5 shows significant delay across two or more domains — motor, language, cognition, social — and most urgently with any regression, abnormal tone, dysmorphism or persistent parental concern. GDD is a provisional descriptor; referral and early intervention should not await a final cognitive label.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Gross Motor Delay Referral
Refer for gross motor delay when milestones are clearly delayed for corrected age — no head control by 4 months, not sitting by 9 months, not walking by 18 months — or when there is abnormal tone, asymmetry, persistent primitive reflexes, or loss of acquired skills.
Read the answer AnswerHearing Impairment red flags for referral
Refer for audiology when a child fails newborn hearing screening, when babble or language stalls, or when a parent reports no response to sound. Permanent or progressive hearing loss is time-critical for speech outcomes — refer promptly rather than monitor, and remember a passed neonatal screen does not exclude later-acquired loss.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Hypotonia Warranting Referral
Hypotonia in a young child warrants prompt referral when red flags accompany it: feeding or respiratory compromise, weak cry, persistent severe head lag, areflexia, fasciculations, developmental regression, dysmorphism, or acute/progressive weakness. Distinguish central from peripheral patterns to guide investigation (CK, SMN1, neuroimaging, EMG/NCS). Acute-onset hypotonia is an emergency. Isolated mild low tone in a thriving, on-track infant can be monitored, but any clustering of features should trigger paediatric neurology and developmental review with concurrent therapy referral.
Read the answer AnswerClinical red flags for Intellectual Disability referral
Refer for assessment when developmental delay is global — spanning cognition, language, motor and adaptive domains — rather than isolated, and persistent across settings. Act most urgently on loss of acquired skills, persistent language milestone failure, adaptive shortfall, dysmorphism or genetic risk, and parental concern. An intellectual disability label is not assigned in early years; refer on the delay pattern.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for Motor Planning Difficulties Warranting Referral
Refer a young child for praxis assessment when difficulty planning and sequencing novel motor actions persists across settings, is disproportionate to strength or tone, and impairs daily function. Red flags include trouble learning new motor tasks, inconsistent day-to-day performance, poor carry-over despite practice, and functional avoidance of dressing, drawing or playground play. These signal impaired ideation/planning/execution rather than weakness, and warrant onward developmental and OT assessment.
Read the answer AnswerNon-Verbal / Minimally Verbal: Red Flags for Referral
Red flags warranting referral for a non-verbal or minimally verbal young child include no babble by 9–12 months, no words by 16 months, under 50 words or no two-word phrases by 24 months, and any loss of speech or social skills at any age. Absent response to name, limited joint attention, and communicating only by leading also warrant assessment. Always exclude hearing loss first, and refer regression the same week without watchful waiting.
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 AnswerPersistent Toe-Walking — Clinical Referral Red Flags
Refer a persistent toe-walker for asymmetric gait, restricted passive dorsiflexion or fixed equinus, hyperreflexia or spasticity, calf hypertrophy or Gower's sign, motor regression, or co-occurring developmental and social-communication concerns. Idiopathic toe-walking is a diagnosis of exclusion.
Read the answer AnswerPrematurity-Related Developmental Risk: Red Flags for Referral
Refer a preterm-born child when corrected-age milestones lag persistently, when tone or movement is asymmetric or abnormal, or when feeding, vision, hearing or behaviour raise concern — most urgently on asymmetric tone, persistent fisting beyond 3 months corrected, early hand preference, or loss of acquired skills. Score milestones against corrected age until 24 months.
Read the answer AnswerRett Syndrome Red Flags Warranting Referral
Refer urgently when a young child shows the Rett pattern: a period of normal early development followed by loss of purposeful hand use, emergence of stereotypic hand movements (wringing, washing, mouthing), deceleration of head growth, and language/social regression — typically 6–18 months. Route to paediatric neurology and clinical genetics for MECP2 testing.
Read the answer AnswerClinical Red Flags for School Readiness Gap
Refer a 4–6-year-old when delays persist across language, pre-academic, motor, attention or self-regulation domains, are out of step with peers, and aren't explained by hearing or sensory deficit. A cross-domain, cross-setting pattern — not a single weak skill — is the referral threshold, especially when parents or preschool staff are concerned.
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