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Occupational Therapy
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Therapy & support
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Therapy & support
How can feeding therapy help a child with sensory-based feeding selectivity?
Feeding therapy helps a child with sensory-based feeding selectivity by gently expanding accepted foods through graded, playful sensory exposure, strengthening the oral-motor skills behind chewing and managing textures, and coaching calm, no-pressure mealtime routines. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I build motor readiness in my child?
Motor readiness grows through playful, repeated everyday movement — tummy time, climbing, ball games and fine-motor play like stacking and threading that build strength, balance and coordination. Little and often, child-led and fun, works best. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I build my child's motor readiness at home?
You can build your child's motor readiness at home through everyday play that invites movement — floor time, climbing, reaching and grasping games — practised at your child's own pace without pressure. Gross-motor play builds strength and balance while fine-motor play builds hand skills. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I build my child's self-sufficiency readiness at home?
Self-sufficiency readiness is built at home by handing children small, achievable responsibilities in dressing, eating, tidying and decision-making, supported by predictable routines, patience and step-by-step practice. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child improve their handwriting?
Handwriting improves when practice builds the foundations beneath the pencil — core and hand strength, grip, eye-hand coordination and letter formation — through short, playful daily activities rather than endless copying. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerFrom being dressed to dressing independently
Children move from being dressed to dressing independently through small, practised steps — starting with undressing, using backward chaining (letting your child finish the last step), choosing easy-to-manage clothes, and building dressing into a predictable routine with plenty of praise for effort. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from crawling to pulling up to stand?
Help your baby move from crawling to pulling up to stand with plenty of floor time, sturdy safe surfaces to grip, and motivating toys placed just above floor level — never by forcing standing or using baby walkers. Most babies pull to stand between about 8 and 12 months. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from a bottle to an open cup?
Moving from a bottle to an open cup works best gradually from around 12 months: offer tiny sips of water in a small open cup at meals, let your child copy you, expect spills, and replace one bottle feed at a time, finishing the comfort feed last. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from eating with help to eating independently?
Children move from being fed to self-feeding by practising the small skills underneath it — grasping and scooping with a spoon, bringing food to the mouth, and managing a cup — through low-pressure, hand-over-hand practice with the right tools, lots of mess and family modelling. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHelping your child cope calmly with overwhelming sounds and textures
Children move from feeling overwhelmed by sounds and textures to coping calmly when adults notice triggers, lower the demand during distress, validate feelings, and build a small toolkit of soothing strategies practised through playful, graded, pressure-free exposure. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from finger feeding to eating with a spoon?
Children move from finger feeding to spoon feeding through gentle, low-pressure practice: offering a second spoon to hold, pre-loading thick spoon-friendly foods, modelling self-feeding and welcoming mess. Most manage a self-loaded spoon between 12 and 18 months. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from a whole-hand grasp to a pincer grasp?
Children move from a whole-hand grasp to a finger-and-thumb pincer through playful, supervised practice with small safe objects — finger foods, pointing and poking games, tearing and pinching, and drop-and-post play. This usually develops across the first year at each child's own pace. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from nappies to using the toilet?
Help your child move from nappies to the toilet by watching for readiness signs rather than a fixed age, introducing the potty playfully, building a predictable routine, and praising effort while staying calm about accidents. Most children are ready between 18 months and 3 years. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from rolling over to sitting up?
You can help your baby move from rolling to sitting by building trunk and neck strength through supervised tummy time, supported sitting practice and reaching games. Babies usually sit with support around 4–6 months and independently around 7–9 months, so the skill unfolds in its own window. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from scribbling to drawing shapes?
Children move from scribbling to drawing shapes as hand strength, grip and hand-eye coordination mature through playful practice. Parents can help by building finger strength, drawing simple lines and circles to copy, using chunky tools on big surfaces, and celebrating attempts without pressure. The sequence runs scribble to line to circle to cross to square. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from sitting up to crawling?
Help your baby move from sitting to crawling with plenty of supervised floor and tummy time, tempting toys placed just out of reach to encourage leaning onto the hands and all fours, and joyful encouragement of every scoot or commando-crawl. Most babies crawl between roughly 7 and 10 months, and some skip crawling entirely yet develop well. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from standing with support to walking independently?
Children move from standing with support to independent walking by building leg strength, balance and confidence — helped at home through cruising along low furniture, weighted push toys, gradually reducing hand-holding, barefoot floor time and warm encouragement. Most walk independently between 12 and 18 months. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I help my child move from walking to running and climbing?
Children move from walking to running and climbing as they build strength, balance, coordination and confidence — usually beginning to run and climb low furniture around 18 months to 2 years. Parents help most through safe active play: slopes, low climbing frames, balance games and chasing play, while following the child's lead. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I improve my child's adaptive skills at home?
Adaptive skills grow best through everyday home routines — dressing, eating, washing and tidying — practised in small steps with warm encouragement and extra time, supported where needed by occupational therapy. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I improve my child's motor skills at home?
You can support your child's motor skills at home through playful, frequent movement — tummy time and reaching for babies, and climbing, balancing, threading and drawing for older children — woven into everyday play. Little and often, following your child's lead, builds both gross and fine motor strength. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I improve my child's Sensory skills at home?
You can support your child's sensory skills at home by weaving varied, playful sensory experiences — different textures, movement and 'heavy work', taste-and-smell play and a calm-down corner — into everyday routines, following your child's lead without pressure. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I nurture my child's Adaptive development?
Adaptive development — self-care and daily-living skills like dressing, feeding and toileting — is nurtured through everyday routines, breaking tasks into small steps, backward chaining, just-enough help and unhurried practice. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I nurture my child's motor development?
Motor development is nurtured through daily, joyful movement — tummy time, reaching, climbing, ball play and fine-motor activities like stacking and scribbling — that give the brain and muscles the repeated practice behind each milestone. Follow your child's pace and celebrate effort. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I nurture my child's sensory development?
Children's sensory development is nurtured through rich, joyful everyday experiences across touch, movement, sound, sight, taste and smell, offered at the child's own comfortable pace through play and routine. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
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