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Therapy & support
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Therapy & support
What should I do if my child bangs their head?
Head-banging in young children is often self-soothing, sensory-seeking or a way of expressing big feelings, especially around sleep, tiredness or frustration. Keep your child safe, stay calm, offer gentler soothing alternatives, and notice when and why it happens. Most occasional head-banging eases with comfort and routine, but frequent, forceful or injury-causing head-banging — or head-banging alongside delays in talking, play or connection — warrants a developmental check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child bites other people?
Biting is a common way young children communicate frustration, overwhelm or teething. Stay calm, respond consistently, name the feeling and teach a safer alternative. Most biting fades with age, but if it is frequent, intense or lasts well past toddlerhood, a developmental check helps. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child can spin without getting dizzy?
A child who spins without getting dizzy is usually seeking strong movement (vestibular) input — often typical and not a worry on its own. It is worth a gentle developmental check if the spinning is constant, hard to stop, interferes with play or safety, or comes with other sensory or developmental differences. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child can't climb stairs?
If your child struggles to climb stairs, a gentle developmental check — usually through physiotherapy and occupational therapy — helps you understand whether it's about strength, balance, body-awareness or confidence, each of which can be built with playful, graded practice. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child can't dress themselves?
Dressing draws on fine motor skills, motor planning, balance and sequencing — many children simply need graded, playful practice and easy-to-manage clothing. Break tasks into small steps and celebrate effort. If your child is markedly behind peers, an occupational therapy check helps. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child can't focus on anything?
If your child can't focus, first observe when and where it happens and address sleep, screens and overstimulation, breaking tasks into small steps. Short attention spans are normal in early childhood; if poor focus is persistent across settings and affects daily life, a developmental check helps. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child can't hold a pencil or crayon?
Pencil grip develops gradually from a whole-fist hold to a refined finger grasp by around 5–6 years, so a young child's loose grip is often expected. Playful hand-strengthening at home helps a great deal, and if difficulty stands out from peers an occupational therapy check guides support. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child can't sit still?
A child who can't sit still is usually healthy — young children learn through movement. Match expectations to age, build in movement breaks, steady routines and check sleep and stimulation. A developmental check helps when restlessness is marked, constant across home and school, and out of step with peers. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child can't use scissors?
If your child can't use scissors, build hand strength and the open-shut grasp through play, use child-safe spring-loaded scissors, and start with single snips before lines and shapes. Cutting matures from around 2–3 (snipping) to 4–5 (cutting on a line), so compare gently with age. If it stays hard well past these ages or other fine-motor tasks struggle too, seek a developmental check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat to do if your child covers their ears at loud sounds
Covering the ears at loud sounds usually signals sensory sensitivity to sound, where a child's nervous system finds certain noises overwhelming. Parents can help by acknowledging the reaction, giving warnings before noisy moments, offering ear defenders, and creating a quiet retreat. A simple hearing check is also worthwhile. Developmental measurement supports care planning; diagnosis requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. under qualified clinician care.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't babble?
If your child isn't babbling, arrange a hearing check first and then a developmental check, while talking, singing and pausing to invite sounds. Most babies coo by ~2 months and babble repeated sounds by ~6–9 months. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't copy what I do?
If your child doesn't copy what you do, make imitation playful and easy — exaggerate and slow your actions, copy your child first to spark back-and-forth, use action songs and routines, pause expectantly, and celebrate every attempt. Imitation develops gradually over the first two years, so consider a gentle developmental check if copying is consistently absent for your child's age or paired with limited eye contact, gestures or words. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't enjoy cuddles?
Many children prefer connection on their own terms — some find firm pressure soothing while light cuddles feel overwhelming, and this is usually a sensory preference rather than a problem. Follow your child's lead and notice how they connect through smiles, eye contact and seeking you out. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't follow simple instructions?
If your child doesn't follow simple instructions, first check their hearing, understanding of words and attention. Give one-step instructions face-to-face with time to respond, and notice when the difficulty happens. Seek a developmental and hearing check if it is frequent or paired with speech, hearing or attention delays. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't like being touched?
If your child doesn't like being touched, follow their lead, offer touch on their terms with firm and predictable pressure, and notice the patterns of what bothers them. This is often a sign of sensory sensitivity rather than rejection, and usually eases with understanding and the right support. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't make eye contact?
If your child doesn't make much eye contact, observe gently and look at the whole picture of social connection — smiling, pointing, sharing, responding to their name — rather than eye contact alone. Get face-to-face during play and follow their interest. Seek a developmental check if reduced eye contact persists alongside other communication differences. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't play pretend?
Pretend play usually develops between 18 months and 3 years. If your child isn't pretending yet, join their play, model simple actions like feeding a doll, and watch over the coming weeks — and arrange a developmental check if it hasn't emerged by 2–3 years alongside other communication differences. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't play with other children?
If your child doesn't play with other children, first match your expectations to their age — parallel play is normal in toddlers and cooperative play grows between three and five. Build turn-taking and pretend play at home, offer small calm playdates, and be the bridge into group play. Seek a check if there's little interest in others, no shared attention, or delays in speech or eye contact. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't point at things?
If your child isn't pointing, observe their wider communication — joint attention, gestures, babble — and encourage pointing at home, while booking a simple developmental check. Pointing usually emerges between 9 and 14 months; a child not pointing by around 15–18 months, or who has lost the skill, is worth a friendly clinician check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't respond to their name?
If your child doesn't respond to their name, first rule out hearing with a simple screen, then observe consistently across quiet and busy moments, watching the whole picture — eye contact, pointing, babble. Not responding by around 9–12 months, especially with other social-communication signs, is worth a developmental check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't seem to feel pain?
If a child doesn't seem to feel pain, see a paediatrician promptly — this is a medical-first question. Reduced pain response can reflect sensory under-responsiveness, but medical or neurological causes must be reviewed first. Keep your child safe from unnoticed injuries meanwhile. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't show me things they like?
If your child doesn't yet show you things they like, focus on warm, face-to-face play — follow their lead, respond with delight when they share, and create gentle reasons to look to you. Sharing interests (joint attention) usually grows between 9 and 18 months. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't smile back?
If your baby doesn't smile back, observe warmly and try again at calm, alert moments — the social smile usually appears between 6 and 8 weeks, with normal variation. Keep offering face-to-face time, eye contact and soft talking, and watch the whole picture of how your baby responds to your voice and gaze. If there's no responsive smile by about 3 months, or little eye contact, a simple developmental check is wise. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerWhat should I do if my child doesn't talk yet?
If your child isn't talking yet, keep talking, playing and reading together, watch how they communicate beyond words, and arrange a developmental and speech check plus a hearing test rather than waiting. Late talking has many causes, and early support helps powerfully. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
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