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Signs & concerns
What signs in a child's Sensory development should a teacher notice and flag?
Teachers can notice sensory signs such as covering ears at ordinary noise, distress at certain textures, constant movement-seeking, missing instructions despite normal hearing, sensitivity to bright light, or not noticing minor injuries. These are observations to flag with parents and the school team, not to diagnose. A pattern seen across several weeks — affecting learning, friendships or safety — matters more than a single off day, and a general developmental, hearing and vision check is the kind first step.
Read the answer AnswerSocial Development Signs a Teacher Should Notice and Flag
Teachers can flag a child who rarely joins group play, struggles to share or take turns, finds eye contact and back-and-forth conversation hard, misreads others' feelings, or stays on the edge of the group across weeks. One or two off-days are normal; a pattern that persists or shows in more than one area is worth noting plainly and sharing warmly with parents and a developmental team. These are observations to notice and flag, never to diagnose.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with achievement orientation?
In toddlers (1–3 years), achievement orientation is the early drive to attempt, persist with and enjoy mastering tasks. Signs worth a gentle look include giving up almost instantly, rarely showing pride or sharing accomplishments, avoiding anything new or slightly hard, or melting down so fully at small setbacks that play stops. At this age persistence is still being built, so these are things to observe and nurture, not diagnose at home. A pattern that persists for weeks, spans many activities or comes alongside other delays is best discussed at a developmental screen.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with activity completion?
Between ages 3 and 7, signs a child may need support with activity completion include rarely finishing tasks, drifting away within seconds, needing constant reminders, feeling overwhelmed by multi-step jobs, or distress when an activity runs long. Most young children are still building focus and follow-through, so these are signs to observe and support, not diagnose at home. A pattern that persists across home and school is worth a friendly developmental check.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with attention to others?
Between 3 and 7 years, signs a child may need support with attention to others include rarely looking at faces when spoken to, seldom sharing interests by pointing or showing, struggling to notice others' feelings, and finding turn-taking and group play hard. These are signs to observe and note, not to diagnose at home. What matters most is a pattern across settings that persists over several months — and warm, early support helps. A developmental screen is a calm next step.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with behaviour awareness?
For a child aged 3 to 7, signs that behaviour awareness may need support can include frequent difficulty noticing how their actions affect others, big reactions that are hard to settle, trouble pausing before acting, and difficulty following familiar rules and routines. These are signs to observe and discuss, not to diagnose at home. What matters is a pattern that persists across months, appears in more than one setting, and affects friendships, learning or daily life. Warm, early support helps the most.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with cognitive communication pre-literacy?
Between roughly 3 and 7 years, signs a child may need support with cognitive communication pre-literacy include trouble following multi-step instructions, little interest in books or rhymes, difficulty retelling a simple story, not recognising their name in print by school-entry age, and limited letter or sound learning. These are signs to observe and gently support, not to diagnose at home — many children bloom on their own timeline, and early playful help works well. A hearing check usually comes first, and support never has to wait for a label.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with cognitive component?
Between about 3 and 7 years, signs your child may need cognitive support include difficulty following simple instructions, slow grasp of everyday concepts like colours, numbers or time, limited pretend play, and needing much more repetition than peers to learn. Children learn at different paces, so these are signs to observe and discuss — not diagnose at home. A gap that persists across months, affects several areas, or widens from peers is best understood early with a gentle developmental screen.
Read the answer AnswerSigns Your Child May Need Expressive Communication Support
For a child aged 3–7, signs of difficulty with expressive communication include a small vocabulary, very short or jumbled sentences, speech that is hard to understand, frustration when not understood, and relying on pointing over words. These are signs to observe and check, not diagnose at home. A developmental screen with a hearing check is a sensible first step, and early, play-based speech support helps many children bloom.
Read the answer AnswerSigns your child may need receptive communication support
Between roughly 3 and 7 years, signs your child may need support with receptive communication (understanding language) include not following simple instructions, seeming not to listen even when hearing is fine, struggling to answer simple who/what/where questions, confusion with everyday words like in/on/under, and relying heavily on gestures to understand. These are signs to observe and check — not diagnose at home. A hearing check comes first, and a developmental screen helps understand the pattern early.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need communication support?
Between ages 3 and 7, signs a child may need communication support fall into understanding (receptive — following instructions, answering questions, grasping stories) and expressing (expressive — sentence length, naming, being understood). Watch for misunderstood requests, short sentences, being hard to understand, or trouble recalling their day. These are signs to observe and check, not diagnose at home; a hearing check comes first, then a speech-language assessment.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with communication social language?
For a child aged 3 to 7, signs they may need support with communication and social language include speech that's hard to understand, trouble following instructions, a small or slow-growing vocabulary, difficulty with back-and-forth conversation, and trouble joining play or reading social cues. These are signs to observe and gently check, not to diagnose at home. A short developmental screen brings clarity, and early support never has to wait for a label.
Read the answer AnswerSigns Your Toddler May Need Support with Conceptual Skills
For a toddler (around 1–3 years), early signs of needing support with conceptual skills include limited understanding of simple words, not following easy one-step instructions, little pretend or pointing play, and slow growth in vocabulary or matching everyday objects. Toddlers vary widely, so these are signs to observe and monitor, not diagnose at home. What matters is a pattern that persists, affects more than one area, or shows loss of skills. A developmental screen brings early clarity and reassurance.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with descriptive language?
Between roughly 3 and 7 years, descriptive language grows as children add colour, size, feeling and detail to their words. Signs your child may need support include very short or bare phrases, leaning on vague words like "thing" instead of naming, difficulty retelling a simple event or explaining how something looks or feels, and frustration when not understood. These are patterns to observe and explore gently — not to diagnose at home — and early, playful speech support helps beautifully.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with distractibility?
Between 3 and 7 years some flitting of attention is normal. Signs your child may need support with distractibility include struggling to stay with age-appropriate tasks, being easily pulled away by noise or movement, leaving tasks unfinished, needing many reminders, and missing instructions. These are patterns to observe and gently support — not diagnose at home — and matter most when they show across home and school and affect learning or friendships. A structured screen helps when the pattern persists.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with early math skills?
Between about 3 and 7 years, signs a child may need support with early maths include difficulty counting in order, not matching number words to quantities, confusing more/less or big/small, trouble recognising numerals, shapes or patterns, and avoiding number play. These are signs to observe and support, not diagnose at home, since early maths grows at different rates. A specific maths learning difficulty is usually only named around 7–8 years, so before then the stance is watch, enrich and monitor — raise persistent concerns at a developmental or school check.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with emotional regulation?
Between 3 and 7 years, meltdowns and big feelings are normal. Signs your child may need support with emotional regulation include very frequent or intense meltdowns lasting longer than peers', difficulty calming even with comfort, and emotions that regularly disrupt play, friendships and daily routines across more than one setting. These are signs to observe and gently support, not diagnose at home — a developmental screen is wise when patterns persist over several months.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with face recognition?
Between 3 and 7 years, most children recognise familiar people by their faces. Signs to watch include relying on voice, hair or clothing instead of the face, greeting familiar people flatly, struggling to find a known person until they speak, and limited eye contact around faces. These are signs to observe and gently explore, not to diagnose at home — and a simple vision check comes first. If the pattern persists across weeks and settings, a warm developmental screen is the right next step.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with grammar use?
By 3–7 years, most children steadily learn word order, tenses, plurals and small joining words. Signs that grammar use may need support include very short sentences for their age, frequent word-order mix-ups, dropped word endings, and lasting confusion with past or future tense. These are signs to observe and screen — not diagnose at home — and gentle, play-based support works best when started early.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with impulse control?
In toddlers aged 1–3, some impulsiveness is normal. Signs worth observing include rarely being able to wait even with help past age 2, frequent dashing into danger with little sense of safety, very intense meltdowns that comfort rarely eases, and hitting or grabbing as a first response far more than peers. These are signs to monitor, not diagnose at home — and a pattern that is intense, appears across settings, and changes little over months is best understood through a gentle developmental screen.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with instruction recall?
Between 3 and 7 years, some forgetting of instructions is normal. Early signs that a child may need support with instruction recall include following only part of a multi-step request, needing frequent repetition, drifting off before finishing a task, and struggling with group instructions. These are patterns to observe gently — not to diagnose at home. A hearing check is a sensible first step, and a friendly developmental screen helps when the pattern persists across home and preschool.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with interruption control?
For a child aged about 3 to 7, signs that interruption control may need support include frequently talking over others, blurting answers before questions finish, difficulty waiting a turn in play or talk, and trouble pausing an action when asked. These skills mature gradually, so they are signs to observe and support, not to diagnose at home. A check helps when the pattern is frequent, beyond same-age peers, and seen across home, preschool and play.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with language structure?
Between about 3 and 7 years, signs your child may need support with language structure include very short or jumbled sentences, missing small grammar words (is, the, -ed), trouble answering who/what/where questions, and difficulty retelling a story in order. These are signs to observe and explore gently, not to diagnose at home. A structured speech-language screen maps where sentence structure is strong and where it needs scaffolding — and early, play-based support makes a real difference.
Read the answer AnswerWhat signs suggest my child may need support with memory and recall?
In children aged about 3–7 years, signs that memory and recall may need support include forgetting two-step instructions, struggling to recall recent events or familiar names, needing the same thing re-taught repeatedly, and losing track mid-task. These often appear alongside attention difficulties. They are signs to observe and gently support, not to diagnose at home. If the pattern persists across home and school for several weeks, a friendly developmental screen is the kind next step.
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