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Therapy & support
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Therapy & support
Is Floortime (DIR) Right for Global Developmental Delay?
Floortime (DIR) can be a valuable, relationship-based approach for a child with Global Developmental Delay, building connection, communication and early thinking through play — but because GDD affects several areas at once, it usually works best as one part of a coordinated plan alongside speech, occupational and physiotherapy. There is no single right therapy; the right plan is built around your child's profile. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Floortime (DIR) Therapy Right for Self-Regulation Difficulties?
Floortime (DIR) can be a strong fit for self-regulation difficulties, especially where emotional connection and engagement are involved, because it builds regulation through warm, child-led, co-regulated play. It is often combined with occupational therapy when sensory processing drives the dysregulation. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Floortime (DIR) the Right Therapy for Social Communication Difficulties?
Floortime (DIR) is often a strong fit for children with social communication difficulties because it builds joyful, two-way emotional connection, shared attention and back-and-forth interaction through child-led play, and is frequently combined with speech and language therapy. Whether it is right for a particular child depends on their profile. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Floortime (DIR) Therapy One-on-One or Group?
Floortime (DIR) therapy is usually delivered one-on-one — one child with a therapist and often a parent — so the adult can follow that child's lead, build warm back-and-forth play and respond to individual differences. Small-group or peer Floortime is typically introduced later, once a child is ready to use these skills with other children. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Food Refusal a Normal Part of Child Development?
Food refusal is very often a normal part of child development, especially in toddlers, who eat less as growth slows, assert independence, and feel cautious about new foods. It usually passes with patient, low-pressure mealtimes. A closer look is warranted only if refusal is persistent, narrows the diet sharply, affects growth, or comes with choking, gagging or distress. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Food Texture Aversion a Normal Part of Child Development?
For most children, some food texture aversion is a normal developmental phase that eases with patient, repeated, pressure-free exposure as they move from purees to lumps and finger foods. It is worth a closer look when the aversion is intense or persistent, gags or chokes, narrows the diet sharply, or affects growth. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Frequent Night Waking a Normal Part of Child Development?
Frequent night waking is a normal part of early child development — babies and toddlers naturally surface between sleep cycles and often need help resettling, easing as they mature. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs gagging on food a normal part of child development?
Gagging on food is usually a normal, protective reflex that helps babies and toddlers learn to manage new textures safely; it differs from choking and settles with gentle practice. Seek a check if it is frequent, not settling, paired with coughing on drinks, poor weight gain or distress. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs group therapy the right therapy for a child with ADHD?
Group therapy can be a valuable part of ADHD support — especially for social skills, turn-taking and self-regulation practised with peers — but it is rarely the whole answer alone. The best plan often blends group work with individual support and family and school strategies. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs group therapy the right therapy for a child with Autism Spectrum?
Group therapy can be a valuable part of an autistic child's plan — especially for social goals like turn-taking, friendships and reading peer cues — but it is rarely the right starting point on its own. Most children first build communication and regulation through one-to-one therapy, then step into a small, well-matched group when ready. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs group therapy the right therapy for a child with childhood anxiety?
Group therapy can be a strong fit for many anxious children — it normalises their worry, lets them practise brave behaviour with peers and learn coping skills together — but it is rarely the whole answer alone and may not suit children with severe anxiety or selective mutism, who often need individual work or a blend first. The right format depends on the child, which is why a tailored assessment matters. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs group therapy the right therapy for a child with social communication difficulties?
Group therapy is often a strong fit for children with social communication difficulties, because turn-taking, reading faces and back-and-forth conversation are best practised with peers. However, it is rarely the whole answer — many children do best with individual therapy first to build core skills, then group work to use them, or a blend of both. The right balance is decided with a clinician. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs group therapy one-on-one or in a group?
Group therapy is delivered in a small group of children, not one-on-one, so they can practise real-world skills like turn-taking, sharing and friendship with peers under therapist guidance. It often runs alongside individual sessions. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Hand-Flapping a Normal Part of Child Development?
Hand-flapping is a common and usually normal part of early child development — many toddlers flap when excited, happy or self-soothing, and it often fades as language grows. It is the whole developmental picture, not flapping alone, that matters; a check helps if it appears alongside other signs. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Head-Banging a Normal Part of Child Development?
For most babies and toddlers, head-banging is a normal self-soothing behaviour that begins around 6 months to 2 years and usually fades by age 3–4, with no harm to the child. It needs a closer look only if it causes injury, persists strongly past age 4, or appears alongside other developmental concerns. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Hitting Others a Normal Part of Child Development?
For toddlers and young preschoolers, occasional hitting is a common, developmentally normal stage that reflects big feelings outpacing language and impulse control, and it usually eases with calm, consistent guidance. A closer look helps when hitting is frequent, intense, persistent, or paired with other developmental concerns. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Homeschooling a Good Option for a Child with Special Needs?
Homeschooling can suit some children with special needs by offering individual pace, a calmer sensory environment and flexible scheduling around therapy, but it is not automatically better than school and asks significant time and structure of parents. Social development and ongoing therapy must continue alongside it; a blended approach works well for many. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs Intense or Unusual Fear a Normal Part of Child Development?
Intense or unusual fears are usually a normal part of child development — separation anxiety, fear of the dark, monsters or loud noises appear and fade as imagination and understanding grow. They warrant a check mainly when very intense, long-lasting, or disruptive to sleep, learning, play or family life. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs it harder for a bilingual child to start school?
Being bilingual does not make starting school harder and does not cause language delay. Children may mix languages or have a smaller vocabulary in one language early on, but their combined language is on track. Keep the home language strong; assess concerns across all of a child's languages, never just one.
Read the answer AnswerIs It Normal for My Child to Develop More Slowly Than Others?
It is very common and usually normal for children to develop at different speeds, because milestones come in ranges rather than on fixed dates. What matters most is steady progress over time. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs It Normal for My Child to Develop Slower Than Others?
It is normal for children to develop at different speeds, as milestones arrive within a range rather than on a fixed date, and many children who start slower catch up well. What matters is steady progress in the child's own direction; if a gap is persistent or growing, a developmental check brings clarity. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Read the answer AnswerIs it normal for progress to come in bursts?
Yes — development normally comes in bursts followed by quieter stretches where the brain consolidates skills. A plateau is usually invisible progress, not a stop. What matters is the forward trend across months; check in if there's no new skill for a long stretch or a clear loss of skills.
Read the answer AnswerIs it okay to raise my child trilingual?
Raising a child trilingual is safe and beneficial — the brain is built to learn multiple languages from birth. Children may have smaller vocabularies in each language but a typical total across all of them, and mixing languages is normal. Multilingualism does not cause language disorders; a true difficulty appears in every language, not just one.
Read the answer AnswerIs it worth travelling to a city for a developmental assessment?
A single well-conducted developmental assessment is often worth one planned trip, because an accurate baseline shapes everything that follows. But travel is no longer the only path — tele-assessment can begin the process from home, and early support can continue locally once a plan exists. The real risk isn't the journey; it's letting months pass without any qualified look.
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