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Understanding
What is Self-Regulation Difficulties?
Self-Regulation Difficulties describe a child's recurring struggle to manage emotions, attention, energy and behaviour to fit the moment — the developing 'inner thermostat'. Because these skills grow gradually and depend on adult co-regulation, much variation is age-appropriate; the signal is when difficulties are intense, frequent and limiting everyday life. A broad developmental review, not a single label, is the right starting point.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Self-Regulation Difficulties, and what are its ICD-11 features in early childhood?
Self-regulation difficulties are a transdiagnostic pattern of impaired modulation of emotion, attention, arousal and behaviour. ICD-11 has no stand-alone code; features map onto ADHD, oppositional, anxiety/fear- and stress-related groupings. In children under ~3–4 years, characterise dimensionally — intensity, duration, pervasiveness and co-regulation needs — rather than labelling prematurely.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Self-Regulation in child development?
Self-regulation is a child's growing ability to notice, manage and recover from big feelings, urges and attention — to calm, wait, shift focus and respond rather than react. In toddlers it is only just emerging and depends heavily on a calm adult to co-regulate. Tantrums and quick mood swings are normal at this age; the skill grows through warm, repeated practice, not expectation of mastery. Early review helps when distress is extreme, rarely soothable or affecting daily family life.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Self-Sufficiency readiness, and how is it built?
Self-Sufficiency readiness is how ready a child is to manage age-appropriate daily living and self-care — eating, dressing, toileting, washing and asking for help. It is not a diagnosis but a gentle way of noticing where independence is strong and where support may help. It is built step by step through everyday practice, encouragement and small responsibilities that grow with the child.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity?
Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity is a pattern where a child eats only a narrow range of foods because of how foods feel, smell, look or taste — not simple fussiness. In ICD-11, severe, persistent restriction maps within avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (6B83). Most toddler picky eating is a normal phase; a closer look helps when the food range is very narrow, mealtimes are distressing, or growth is affected.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity and its ICD-11 features?
Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity is persistent food restriction driven by aversive sensory responses to texture, taste, smell or appearance. ICD-11 captures it within ARFID (6B83); early-childhood features include narrowed intake, sensory-based avoidance, and consequences such as faltering growth, nutritional deficiency or supplement dependence, not explained by illness or weight concerns.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is sensory development in children?
Sensory development is how a child's brain learns to receive, organise and respond to information from the senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, plus balance and body-position awareness. From birth, these systems mature and work together so a child can attend, move, play and feel comfortable in everyday settings. It is a gradual, individual journey, and a degree of sensory variation between children is completely normal.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory in child development?
Sensory development is how a toddler takes in, organises and responds to information from their senses — sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, plus movement and body position. Between 12 and 36 months, children actively learn to filter and respond to this input so they can play, eat, move and connect comfortably. Wide variation is normal; a review helps only when strong, persistent sensory responses regularly interrupt eating, sleep, play or family life.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory Integration Therapy?
Sensory integration therapy is a therapist-led, play-based approach — usually delivered by an occupational therapist in a sensory-rich space — that helps a child's brain organise and respond to everyday sensations such as touch, movement, balance, sound and body awareness. Using purposeful, gently graded activities like swinging, climbing, heavy-work play and textures, it supports smoother sensory processing so that daily routines like dressing, eating, playing and learning feel easier. The aim is not to 'fix' a child but to build regulation, comfort and confidence. It is most often used with children who show sensory-processing differences.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory Processing Differences?
Sensory processing differences describe how a child's brain takes in and responds to everyday sensations — sound, touch, light, movement, taste and smell. Some children are over-responsive, some under-responsive, many a mix. It is a difference in nervous-system organisation, not a flaw, and support focuses on understanding the child's sensory world, never fixing the child.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory Processing Differences, and its ICD-11 features?
Sensory Processing Differences describe atypical detection, modulation or integration of sensory input affecting daily participation. ICD-11 has no standalone code; these patterns are described as features within neurodevelopmental conditions, notably autism spectrum disorder, where sensory hyper/hypo-reactivity is a diagnostic feature. Best framed as a functional profile, not a discrete diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory Processing in child development?
Sensory processing is how a child's brain takes in information from the senses — touch, sound, sight, taste, smell, movement and body position — organises it and responds appropriately. It is a normal, developing ability, not a diagnosis. When processing runs smoothly a child can settle, listen and play comfortably; when it is still developing, everyday sounds, textures or movement may feel too intense or too faint, shaping how a child reacts. Differences become worth reviewing when they regularly disrupt sleep, meals, dressing, play or learning.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory Regulation in child development?
Sensory regulation is a child's ability to take in everyday sensations — sounds, sights, textures, movement — and stay comfortably settled and ready to play, listen and learn. It is not a diagnosis but a developing ability that grows across the early years. Some children find it harder to manage certain sensations, and many build steadier regulation with playful, repeated experiences and, where needed, targeted support.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sensory Responses in child development?
Sensory responses describe how a child takes in and reacts to information from their senses — sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, movement and body awareness. Classified under ICF b156, every child has their own sensory style, and most reactions settle as the nervous system matures. It is not a diagnosis, but when reactions are very strong or get in the way of everyday play, eating or dressing, an occupational therapy review can help.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Separation Anxiety Disorder?
Separation Anxiety Disorder (ICD-11 6B05) is excessive, developmentally inappropriate fear of being apart from a primary caregiver. Some clinginess is normal in early childhood; it becomes a clinical concern only when distress is intense, persistent over weeks, and disrupts sleep, school and family life. Diagnosis follows a clinician-administered review, not a checklist.
Read the answer AnswerSeparation Anxiety Disorder (ICD-11 6B05): a clinician explainer
Separation Anxiety Disorder (ICD-11 6B05) is marked, developmentally excessive fear or anxiety about separation from attachment figures, persisting over time and causing functional impairment. In early childhood it presents as excessive worry about harm to caregivers, refusal to separate, separation nightmares and somatic complaints — exceeding normative developmental responses.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Situational in child development?
In child development, 'situational' means a young child's skills, behaviour and mood can change depending on the setting — who is present, where they are, and how familiar the routine feels. It is normal and expected: context shapes how abilities show up. Because of this, watching a toddler across several everyday situations gives a truer picture than a single snapshot. A difference seen only in one setting often points to the setting; one seen everywhere is worth a closer look.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Sleep in child development?
Sleep in toddlerhood is an active, essential part of development — the time when the brain consolidates learning, the body grows, and emotions settle. Most toddlers (1–3 years) need around 11–14 hours in every 24 hours, usually a long night plus a daytime nap. Healthy sleep underpins attention, mood, learning and appetite, and settling well is itself a self-care skill that grows with calm, predictable routines.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Social Awareness in child development?
Social awareness is a child's growing ability to notice and make sense of other people — their feelings, needs and the unspoken rules of a situation. It underpins kindness, sharing, friendship and cooperation. In children aged about 3 to 7 it shows as reading a friend's face, taking turns, and beginning to understand others may want something different. It develops gradually and unevenly, and that is normal — playful practice helps it grow.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Social Communication Difficulties?
Social Communication Difficulties (ICD-11 6A01.22) describe persistent difficulty with the social use of language — turn-taking, staying on topic, reading tone, and understanding meaning that isn't said directly — despite adequate words and grammar. It sits within developmental speech or language disorders and is distinct from autism. Diagnosis requires a clinician-led assessment that looks for a consistent, participation-limiting pattern.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Social Communication Difficulties, and its ICD-11 features?
Social Communication Difficulties (ICD-11 6A01.22) is a persistent impairment in the pragmatic, social use of language disproportionate to structural language and cognition, diagnosed only when autism's restricted/repetitive behaviours are absent. Early-childhood features span reciprocity, context adaptation, narrative inference and non-verbal integration.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Social Communication in child development?
Social communication is how a child uses language together with non-verbal cues — eye contact, gesture, expression and tone — to connect with others: to share, ask, greet, take turns and play. It is not just what a child says but how they use it socially (ICF d350). Between three and seven years it grows quickly, as children learn conversation, social rules and reading others' feelings. It is not a diagnosis but a developmental area worth gentle attention if a child struggles to connect with peers.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is Social Development in child development?
Social development is how a child gradually learns to connect with others — sharing, taking turns, making friends, understanding feelings and following the unspoken rules of being together. It is not a single skill but a web of abilities that grows through play and everyday moments, especially between ages 3 and 7. Differences in pace are common, and warm modelling and practice help these skills bloom; an early review simply guides support where it helps.
Read the answer AnswerWhat is social development in children?
Social development is how children learn to connect with others — sharing attention, reading feelings, taking turns, making friends and understanding the give-and-take of relationships. It begins at birth with eye contact and social smiles and grows into cooperative play, empathy and friendship. It follows a broad pattern but moves at each child's own pace, nurtured by warm everyday interaction.
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