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Occupational Therapy
Explore explanations, everyday questions and next steps connected with occupational therapy.
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Signs & concerns
4-Year-Old Motor Development
Most 4-year-olds can hop on one foot, climb stairs with alternating feet, catch a large ball, and copy a circle or cross with a crayon. A steady trend of progress across big and fine-motor skills is reassuring. Seek a gentle developmental check if your child cannot jump or hop, is very clumsy, cannot hold a crayon, tires unusually quickly, or has lost a skill — a reason to look, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIs my 4-year-old developing normally in sensory?
At four, strong sensory preferences — disliking certain textures, loving spinning and crashing, covering ears at loud sounds — are usually typical parts of learning to process the world. Seek a developmental check when sensory reactions regularly disrupt play, meals, dressing or sleep, are very hard to soothe, or come with delays in talking, social or motor skills. This is a reason to look early, not a diagnosis, because support works best now.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 4-Year-Old Ready for Age-Appropriate Independence?
Most four-year-olds are ready for growing independence — dressing with help, feeding themselves, washing hands, tidying, and making simple choices — and readiness appears gradually and unevenly, which is normal. You build it by offering chances to try, allowing extra time, and praising effort. Seek a calm developmental check if everyday self-care, communication or play feel far behind same-age peers — as support, not alarm.
Read the answer AnswerIs my 5-year-old developing normally in adaptive skills?
Most 5-year-olds are flourishing in adaptive skills — dressing with little help, managing toileting, eating tidily, washing hands and helping with small chores. If your child does most of these and keeps learning new ones, that is reassuring. Seek a gentle developmental check only if several self-care skills lag well behind age expectations, independence is slipping, or delays travel with differences in talking, play or social connection. This is a reason to observe early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 5-Year-Old Developing Normally in Motor Skills?
Most five-year-olds run, hop on one foot, climb confidently, catch a bounced ball, draw a person with several parts and hold a pencil well. Children vary, so one emerging skill is rarely a worry. If several gross-motor or fine-motor skills feel behind, or a skill is lost, a gentle developmental check is wise — this is reassurance and early opportunity, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerSensory development at five — what's typical and when to check
By five, most children manage everyday sensory experiences — sounds, textures, lights, movement and crowds — well enough to join in at home, park and kindergarten, even with firm likes and dislikes. Being fussy about scratchy clothes or loud parties is usually typical. A gentle developmental check is wise if sensory reactions are so strong or persistent that they regularly disrupt play, meals, dressing, learning or friendships, or travel with other developmental questions. This is reassurance and a decision guide, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 5-Year-Old Ready for Age-Appropriate Independence?
Most five-year-olds are ready for age-appropriate independence — dressing with little help, toileting alone, following two-step instructions and separating at school without lasting distress. Readiness shows as steady progress with support, not perfection. If your child needs full help with most self-care, cannot follow simple routines, or is overwhelmed by everyday separation, a calm developmental check helps you understand and support — it is not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 6-to-9-Month-Old Developing Normally in Adaptive Skills?
Between 6 and 9 months, most babies are building adaptive skills — reaching and grasping, bringing objects to the mouth, beginning to manage finger-foods, and exploring with curiosity. There is a wide range of normal at this age. A gentle developmental check is sensible if by around 9 months your baby is not reaching for objects, not bringing hands or toys to the mouth, shows little interest in feeding or surroundings, or seems to have lost a skill. This is reassurance and early opportunity, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 6-to-9-Month-Old Developing Normally in Motor Skills?
Between 6 and 9 months, most babies learn to sit, roll both ways, reach for toys and pass objects hand to hand — across a wide, healthy range. Seek a gentle developmental check if your baby isn't starting to sit with support by around 9 months, isn't reaching for things, feels very stiff or floppy, or only uses one side of the body. This is information and reassurance, not a diagnosis — early support works beautifully at this age.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 6-to-9-Month-Old Developing Normally in Sensory?
Between 6 and 9 months most babies explore through their senses — reaching, mouthing toys, turning to sounds and enjoying touch — within a wide, healthy range of normal. Seek a developmental check if your baby doesn't turn to sounds, doesn't follow with their eyes, feels very floppy or stiff, doesn't reach for things, is intensely distressed by ordinary touch or sound, or loses a skill. This is a reason for an early, reassuring look — not a diagnosis.
Read the answer Answer6-Year-Old Adaptive Development
By six, most children dress, toilet, eat and follow simple routines with a little support — strong signs of healthy adaptive development. Skills like shoelaces or telling the time often take longer, and wide variation is normal. Seek a gentle developmental check only if several self-care or independence skills lag well behind peers or aren't growing month by month. This is a reason to look early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer Answer6-Year-Old Motor Development: Is It Normal?
Most 6-year-olds run, skip, hop, balance, ride a bike, catch a ball, hold a pencil with control, draw shapes and dress themselves. If your child does most of these, even unevenly, that's usually typical. A developmental check is wise if they consistently struggle far behind classmates, tire very easily, trip often, find pencil and scissor work very hard after practice, or lose a skill they once had.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 6-Year-Old Developing Normally in Sensory?
By six, most children manage everyday sensory experiences with growing ease, even with clear likes and dislikes — sensory preferences alone are normal. Seek a developmental check when sensory reactions are so strong or frequent that they disrupt learning, friendships, eating, dressing or daily routines, or come alongside other developmental differences. This is a reason to assess early, not a diagnosis, because support works beautifully at this age.
Read the answer Answer9–12 Month Adaptive Development
At 9–12 months, adaptive (self-help) development means skills like the thumb-finger pincer grasp, self-feeding, helping with dressing, and waving or clapping. There's a wide range of normal, so showing several of these and steadily adding more is reassuring. Seek a gentle developmental check if your baby has no pincer grasp, no interest in self-feeding, no imitation or gestures, or has lost a skill once had — not as a diagnosis, but because early support works best at this age.
Read the answer Answer9-to-12-Month Motor Development
Between 9 and 12 months, most babies sit steadily, crawl or shuffle, pull to stand, cruise along furniture and use a pincer grasp — within a wide, healthy range, with first steps anywhere from 10 to 15 months. Seek a developmental check if by 12 months your baby cannot sit unsupported, bears no weight on their legs, makes no attempt to move about, doesn't reach for objects, strongly favours one hand, or seems very floppy or stiff. These are reasons to assess early, not a diagnosis — early support works beautifully at this age.
Read the answer AnswerIs My 9-to-12-Month-Old Developing Normally in Sensory?
Most 9-to-12-month-olds are eager sensory explorers — mouthing toys, turning to voices and sounds, watching moving objects and tolerating everyday handling. Wide variation is healthy, so one quirk is rarely a worry. Seek a gentle developmental check if your baby is consistently unbothered by loud sounds or your voice, very distressed by everyday textures or touch, seems flat to sights and sounds, or shows sensory differences alongside delays in babbling, eye contact or movement. This is a reason to look early, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerNewborn Adaptive Development — A Reassuring Guide
In the first three months, adaptive development means the basics of living — feeding, settling, sleeping, alerting and calming. A newborn who feeds well, has regular wet nappies, can be soothed and shows brief alert moments is developing as expected. There are no complex self-help skills to test at this age, so gentle daily observation plus routine well-baby visits with your paediatrician is all that is needed. Speak to your doctor if your baby feeds very poorly, is hard to wake, is very floppy or stiff, or isn't gaining weight — these are health questions, not therapy ones.
Read the answer AnswerNewborn motor development: what's normal in the first 3 months
In the first three months, newborn motor development is about reflexes, muscle tone and early head control — not crawling or reaching. A typical newborn moves all four limbs fairly evenly, grips your finger, roots and sucks to feed, and begins brief head-lifts during tummy time by 6–8 weeks. There is a wide normal range. Seek a gentle check if your baby is very floppy or stiff, consistently moves one side far less, feeds weakly, keeps fists always clenched, or shows no head-lift by 2–3 months. This is reason to observe early, never to be alarmed.
Read the answer AnswerIs My Newborn Developing Normally in Sensory?
In the first three months, a newborn's senses are meant to be new and still settling, and most of what parents notice is completely typical. Healthy newborns startle to loud sounds, quiet to a familiar voice, focus on faces at close range, and calm to gentle holding and rocking. Worth a check: never startling to sound, not fixing on your face by 6–8 weeks, or persistent floppiness or stiffness. This is gentle observation and routine well-baby care — not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerToddler not drinking from an open cup at 12–18 months
A 12-to-18-month-old who cannot yet drink from an open cup is almost always perfectly typical — many toddlers are still learning this skill, and spills are part of the process. It is a skill that grows with practice, not a red flag on its own. A gentle check is wise only if drinking comes with frequent coughing or choking on thin liquids, refusal of most textures, or delays in talking and connecting. This is reassurance, not diagnosis — early support works best when it's needed.
Read the answer AnswerToddler not drinking from an open cup yet — is it a concern?
At 18–24 months, still learning to drink from an open cup is usually completely typical — many toddlers are sipping (with spills) within this window and some take a little longer. Worth a developmental or feeding check only if cup-drinking comes with frequent coughing, choking, gagging, liquid through the nose, very little chewing, or wider delays in talking, hand skills or play. This is a reason to assess early, never a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerToddler Falling Asleep Alone at 18–24 Months
Needing help to fall asleep is completely typical at 18 to 24 months — self-settling is a learned skill that develops gradually with gentle, consistent bedtime routines. It is not a delay. A calm developmental review is only wise if sleep is disrupted by loud snoring, breathing pauses, extreme daytime sleepiness, or if settling difficulty travels with delays in talking, connecting or play. This is reassurance, not a diagnosis.
Read the answer AnswerToddler Not Feeding Themselves at 18–24 Months
At 18–24 months, self-feeding is still emerging — scooping with a spoon (messily), picking up finger foods and drinking from a cup are typical, while refusing the spoon or wanting to be fed is common. Seek a developmental check if your child shows no interest in feeding themselves, cannot grasp finger foods, gags or chokes often, eats only a very narrow range of textures, or this sits alongside delays in talking, walking or hand use. This is a reason to assess early, not a diagnosis — support works best at this age.
Read the answer AnswerMy 18-to-24-month-old cannot undress yet — is that a concern?
At 18–24 months, most toddlers are only just beginning to help with undressing — pulling off a sock or tugging at a hat — and full independent undressing usually arrives nearer 2 to 3 years. So not yet undressing alone at this age is almost always typical. A gentle developmental check is wise only if your child shows no interest in helping at all, struggles broadly with using their hands, or this sits alongside delays in talking, walking or playing.
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