Eye-Contact AbilityScore 200–300: Your Next Steps

A single number is never the whole story of your child — it's simply a starting point for the right kind of support.

In short

An Eye-Contact AbilityScore in the 200–300 band tells us your child is finding it harder than expected to use eye contact to connect, share and respond — and that this is worth a closer, supportive look. It is not a diagnosis and not a verdict on your child's future. The next step is a clinician-led assessment to understand why eye contact is emerging slowly, followed by a gentle, play-based plan that builds connection at your child's own pace.

What this band means

Eye contact is one of the earliest ways children share attention — looking to you to show delight, to ask for help, or to check how you feel. A score in this band suggests your child may be using eye contact less often, more briefly, or less flexibly than is typical for their age. This can have many roots: a child's temperament, language stage, attention and sensory profile, or differences in social communication. The band points to a pattern worth exploring — it does not, on its own, name any condition.

Your next steps

• Book a clinician-led assessment. A qualified Pinnacle clinician observes your child in play, gathers your everyday observations, and forms a complete developmental picture — eye contact is read alongside language, play, attention and connection, never in isolation.
• Keep simple notes at home. When does your child look at you most — during cuddles, songs, a favourite toy, mealtimes? When is it hardest? These real-life moments help your clinician hugely.
• Build connection through play, not pressure. Get face-to-face at your child's eye level, follow their interest, and pair looking with joy — never force eye contact.
• Follow the plan together. If support is recommended, it is usually warm, play-based therapy that grows shared attention and back-and-forth connection step by step.

The Pinnacle way

AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional — never from an app, a number alone, or an online form. Across our network of 70+ centres and 700+ therapists, your child receives a precise, clinician-administered developmental profile and, where helpful, gentle speech and social-communication therapy that builds connection at their pace.

Trusted sources

American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) guidance on social and developmental milestones; CDC developmental monitoring resources on shared attention and early communication; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association guidance on social communication.

Next step — Turn this score into a clear plan. Book an assessment with a Pinnacle clinician.

This is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.