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Occupational Therapy
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Therapy & support
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Therapy & support
How can I support adaptive development in my 12-to-18-month-old?
Support adaptive development in a 12-to-18-month-old by giving frequent, low-pressure chances to practise self-help skills — self-feeding, cup drinking, helping with dressing and simple routines — while narrating steps and praising effort. Progress is uneven and normal at this age. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 18-to-24-month-old?
Adaptive development in 18-to-24-month-olds — the everyday self-help skills of feeding, drinking, dressing and routines — is best supported by letting your toddler try, offering just-enough help, and weaving practice into daily life. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 2-year-old?
Support adaptive development in a 2-year-old by giving daily, low-pressure chances to practise self-help skills — eating, dressing, washing — within predictable routines, breaking tasks into tiny steps, offering simple choices, and praising effort. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 3-to-6-month-old?
Adaptive development in a 3-to-6-month-old is supported through warm, responsive, predictable care — answering cues, encouraging reaching and grasping, giving supervised tummy time, and building gentle daily rhythms around feeds and sleep. There is nothing to fix at this age; your loving presence is the support. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 3-year-old?
Support a three-year-old's adaptive development by letting them practise self-help skills — feeding, dressing, tidying and toilet learning — in small steps with patient guidance, predictable routines and praise for effort over perfection. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 4-year-old?
Support adaptive development in a 4-year-old through predictable daily routines, "just-right" help that fades as skills grow, bite-sized self-care tasks, play that rehearses life skills, and praise for effort. A developmental check helps if everyday self-help, dressing, feeding or toileting lags well behind peers. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 5-year-old?
Adaptive development — the everyday self-help skills of dressing, eating, toileting and routines — is supported by letting your five-year-old practise tasks independently, breaking jobs into small steps, using visual routines, keeping it playful, and praising effort over perfection. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSupporting adaptive development at 6–9 months
Support adaptive development in a 6-to-9-month-old through unhurried, responsive daily routines — letting your baby explore soft finger foods, hold a bottle or supported cup, take part in dressing and bath time, and learn through predictable, loving repetition. These skills are emerging, not finished, so the aim is shared enjoyment and gentle practice, never hitting a target by a date. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 6-year-old?
You can support adaptive development in a 6-year-old by building self-help and life skills — dressing, chores, routines, money and time basics — into everyday life through small, repeatable steps with warm encouragement and growing independence. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my 9-to-12-month-old?
Support adaptive development in a 9-to-12-month-old through responsive routines, hands-on practice and gentle independence: let your baby self-feed soft finger foods, sip from a cup, and help with dressing and bathing. Progress is uneven and that's normal. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support adaptive development in my newborn?
Adaptive development in newborns means the earliest self-regulation skills — feeding, sleeping and soothing. You support it through warm, responsive, predictable care: answering cues, responsive feeding, skin-to-skin and gentle rhythms, not exercises. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support feeding therapy goals at home?
You support feeding therapy at home by keeping mealtimes calm, predictable and pressure-free, practising the exact oral-motor and sensory steps your therapist sets, and offering repeated low-stakes food exposures while following your 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 support motor development in my 12-to-18-month-old?
Support motor development in a 12-to-18-month-old with safe floor and walking practice, climbing, hands-on play with blocks and crayons, finger foods, and joyful ground play. Every child finds their 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 support motor development in my 18-to-24-month-old?
You support motor development in an 18-to-24-month-old through plenty of safe, playful movement — walking on varied surfaces, climbing, carrying, kicking a ball, scribbling, stacking and self-feeding — while letting them try themselves before you help. Gross and fine motor skills grow through repetition and joyful play, not drills. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 2-year-old?
You support a 2-year-old's motor development through daily, joyful, hands-on play — running, climbing, carrying, stacking and scribbling — offering a little more challenge than they can already manage and letting them lead. Big-body and fine-motor skills grow fastest through movement and self-care practice, not screens. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 3-to-6-month-old?
Support a 3-to-6-month-old's motor development with daily supervised tummy time, floor play with room to reach and kick, face-to-face interaction, and limited time in seats and bouncers. By around 6 months many babies hold their head steady, roll and reach. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 3-year-old?
Support a 3-year-old's motor development through daily active play — running, climbing, jumping and ball games for big muscles, plus crayons, blocks, threading and finger foods for small muscles. Children this age learn through joyful repetition, not drills. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 4-year-old?
A 4-year-old's motor development is best supported through active, playful daily practice — running, climbing, balancing and ball play for big muscles, and drawing, threading, cutting and dressing for small ones. Keep it fun and praise effort, and seek a developmental check if your child frequently falls, tires quickly, cannot hop or climb stairs, or struggles to hold a crayon. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 5-year-old?
A 5-year-old's motor development is supported through active, joyful play — running, hopping, climbing and ball games for the big muscles, and drawing, cutting, threading and building for the small hand muscles. Aim for around an hour of active play daily and keep it fun, not drill-like. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 6-to-9-month-old?
Support a 6-to-9-month-old's motor development with frequent supervised tummy and floor time, open space to roll and reach, toys placed just out of reach, supported sitting practice, and hand play with varied toys — while limiting time in walkers and bouncers. Follow your baby's pace and seek a check if they aren't sitting with support by around 9 months. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 6-year-old?
Six-year-olds develop motor skills best through generous, varied everyday play — running, climbing, balancing and ball games for gross motor skills, and drawing, cutting, threading and dressing for fine motor skills. Keep it playful and celebrate effort, and seek a gentle developmental check if your child seems much clumsier than peers or avoids physical and pencil tasks. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my 9-to-12-month-old?
Support motor development in a 9-to-12-month-old by giving plenty of supervised floor time, encouraging crawling, pulling up and cruising, and offering reaching, grasping and finger-feeding practice in a safe space — avoiding baby walkers. Babies vary widely in timing. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support motor development in my newborn?
Newborn motor development is supported through simple everyday care — short, supervised tummy time, plenty of holding and carrying, face-to-face play and free movement when awake. There is nothing complex to teach; ordinary nurturing care builds head control and strength. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support my child's adaptive development at home?
Support your child's adaptive development at home by weaving small, repeatable chances for self-care and independence into everyday routines — letting them practise dressing, eating, washing and tidying with just enough help that fades as they succeed. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
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