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Occupational Therapy
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Therapy & support
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Therapy & support
How to support your child's adaptive development from birth
Support your baby's adaptive development from birth through responsive feeding, predictable routines, warm skin-to-skin closeness, and gentle chances to practise small self-care skills as they grow. Adaptive skills build step by step on trust and connection. 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 motor development at home?
You can support motor development at home with plenty of safe floor time, movement and play — building gross motor strength through climbing, crawling and jumping, and fine motor control through stacking, scribbling and finger play. Keep it playful and go at your child's 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 my child's motor development from birth?
You can support your baby's motor development from birth through daily supervised tummy time, free floor movement out of seats and walkers, reachable toys to invite reaching and grasping, and warm face-to-face play. Babies follow their own natural timeline. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSupporting Your Child's Sensory Development at Home
You can support your child's sensory development at home through everyday playful experiences that engage touch, movement, balance, sound, sight, smell and taste at a comfortable pace, 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 to support your child's sensory development from birth
You support sensory development from birth through rich, gentle, responsive everyday experiences — skin-to-skin touch, your voice, your face at close range, gentle movement and varied textures. A newborn's senses are already working, and warm, predictable caregiving is the strongest 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 occupational therapy goals at home?
Support occupational therapy goals at home by weaving short, playful practice into everyday routines — dressing, mealtimes, fine-motor play and sensory movement — so skills get repeated naturally, with guidance from your therapist. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support paediatric physiotherapy goals at home?
Parents support paediatric physiotherapy goals at home by turning the therapist's plan into short, playful, daily movement practice — following the exact positions and activities demonstrated, keeping it fun and consistent, and reviewing progress with the team. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 12-to-18-month-old?
Sensory development in a 12-to-18-month-old is supported through rich everyday play that feeds touch, movement, balance, sight, sound, taste and smell — messy play, safe climbing, songs and varied food textures, all done with you and led by your child. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 18-to-24-month-old?
You support sensory development in an 18-to-24-month-old through rich, varied everyday sensory play — messy textures, movement, sounds, sights and tastes — while following your child's lead, with no special equipment needed. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 2-year-old?
You support a 2-year-old's sensory development through rich, playful everyday experiences across touch, movement, balance, body awareness, sound, sight, taste and smell — messy play, climbing, music and varied food textures. Follow your child's lead and keep it pressure-free. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 3-to-6-month-old?
Support a 3-to-6-month-old's sensory development through warm, everyday play: face-to-face talking and singing, safe textures to touch, supervised tummy time, tracking colourful objects, and offering rattles to reach and grasp. Follow your baby's lead and give calm breaks. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 3-year-old?
Support a 3-year-old's sensory development through everyday play that feeds touch, movement, balance, sound, sight, taste and smell — messy play, climbing, music, water, sand and cooking together — within a calm, predictable routine. Sensory preferences vary widely and most variation is typical. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 4-year-old?
Support a 4-year-old's sensory development through rich, varied, playful everyday experiences — messy and texture play, big movement, music, varied tastes and a calm-down space — following your child's lead without pressure. Most children simply need plenty of safe sensory variety. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 5-year-old?
Support a five-year-old's sensory development through rich, playful everyday experiences — movement, climbing, messy play, music and outdoor exploration — that help the brain learn to take in and use information from all the senses calmly and confidently. Follow your child's lead, keep it low-pressure, and seek a friendly developmental check if your child is very distressed by sounds, textures or movement. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSupporting Sensory Development in Your 6-to-9-Month-Old
Support a 6-to-9-month-old's sensory development through safe everyday experiences — varied textures to touch, sounds to turn towards, supervised tastes, and plenty of supported movement and floor play, all led by your baby's cues. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my 6-year-old?
Support a 6-year-old's sensory development through rich, everyday play — big-body movement like swinging and climbing, heavy work, texture play, music and calm-down spaces — offered with variety and no pressure. Most variation is normal; a developmental check helps if sensory reactions consistently distress your child or affect daily life. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerSupporting sensory development at 9–12 months
Support sensory development in a 9-to-12-month-old through everyday play that engages touch, movement, hearing, sight and taste — messy textures, floor time and cruising, naming sounds, peek-a-boo and varied safe foods. Follow your baby's lead and keep it joyful. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I support sensory development in my newborn?
Newborn sensory development is supported through everyday loving contact — skin-to-skin touch and gentle massage, soft talking and singing, close eye contact at about 20–30 cm, slow rocking, and a calm rhythm of feeds and rest. Newborns need warm, responsive interaction, not toys or screens. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow to Support Sensory Integration Therapy Goals at Home
Sensory integration therapy goals are supported at home through simple, playful daily routines — a therapist-guided 'sensory diet' of movement, deep-pressure 'heavy work', touch play and calm-down spaces, always following your child's cues. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I teach my child to brush their teeth?
Children learn to brush their teeth through playful routine, gentle modelling and repetition — brush together twice daily, let your child try first then finish the job yourself until about age 7–8, and break the task into small steps with songs or timers. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I teach my child to do simple chores?
Children learn chores best when tasks are broken into tiny steps, demonstrated first, practised together, then handed over gradually with visual reminders, a steady routine and 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 teach my child to drink from a cup?
Teach cup drinking by starting around six months with small sips of water at mealtimes, choosing an open or straw cup, modelling sipping, letting your child grip and explore, and expecting spills with a relaxed, no-pressure approach. Seek a developmental check for persistent coughing, choking or difficulty closing the lips around a cup. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I teach my child to fall asleep on their own?
Children learn to fall asleep independently through a predictable bedtime routine, consistent timing, and being put down drowsy but awake so they self-settle, while you gradually fade your presence over a few patient weeks. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerHow can I teach my child to feed themselves?
Children learn to feed themselves through hands-on practice with graspable finger foods and a child-sized spoon, by eating together and copying you, and with calm, pressure-free, unhurried mealtimes where mess is welcomed as part of learning. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
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