{"h1":"Pretend-Play AbilityScore 700–800: Your Next Steps","faq":[{"a":"Yes — it is a strong, reassuring band showing rich, age-appropriate make-believe play, which underpins language, social skills and flexible thinking. It is a strength to celebrate and build upon.","q":"Is a Pretend-Play AbilityScore of 700–800 a good result?"},{"a":"A score in this band does not signal a concern or a need for therapy. The focus is on nurturing the strength through richer play and reviewing the whole picture at a routine developmental check-in with a clinician.","q":"Does my child need therapy with this score?"},{"a":"Offer open-ended materials like boxes, scarves and figures, follow your child's lead while adding one new idea at a time, and invite siblings or peers in for cooperative storytelling play.","q":"How can I help my child's pretend play grow further?"},{"a":"No. A clinical AbilityScore® is always read by a qualified clinician alongside everything else they observe across play, language, motor and social skills — at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre.","q":"Can I rely on the score alone?"}],"lang":"en","slug":"my-child-s-pretend-play-abilityscore-is-700-800-what-are-the-next-steps","title":"Pretend-Play AbilityScore 700–800: Your Next Steps","entity":{"key":"pretend-play-toddler","kind":"ability","name":"Pretend-Play","slug":null},"lenses":[{"kind":"stakeholder","label":"Parent","value":"parent"},{"kind":"domain","label":"Social","value":"social"},{"kind":"intent","label":"Support","value":"support"},{"kind":"lifecycle","label":"Measure","value":"measure"},{"kind":"route","label":"Book-Assessment","value":"book-assessment"},{"kind":"score_band","label":"As 700 800","value":"as_700_800"},{"kind":"empowerment","label":"Self Sufficiency","value":"self_sufficiency"}],"parent":{"key":"abilities","label":"Abilities"},"related":[{"lang":"en","slug":"my-child-s-play-and-imagination-abilityscore-is-700-800-what-are-the-next-steps","title":"Play & Imagination AbilityScore 700–800: Next Steps"},{"lang":"en","slug":"my-child-s-pretend-play-abilityscore-is-900-1000-what-are-the-next-steps","title":"Pretend-Play AbilityScore 900–1000 — What Are the Next Steps?"},{"lang":"en","slug":"my-child-s-pretend-play-abilityscore-is-500-600-what-are-the-next-steps","title":"Pretend-Play AbilityScore 500–600 — Next Steps"},{"lang":"en","slug":"my-child-s-play-and-imagination-abilityscore-is-800-900-what-are-the-next-steps","title":"Play & Imagination AbilityScore 800–900: Next Steps"},{"lang":"en","slug":"my-child-s-pretend-play-abilityscore-is-600-700-what-are-the-next-steps","title":"Pretend-Play AbilityScore 600–700: Your Next Steps"},{"lang":"en","slug":"my-child-s-pretend-play-abilityscore-is-800-900-what-are-the-next-steps","title":"Pretend-Play AbilityScore 800–900 — Next Steps for Parents"}],"summary":"A Pretend-Play AbilityScore in the 700–800 band is a strong, reassuring result showing rich, age-appropriate make-believe play — a foundation for social, language and thinking skills. Next steps are to nurture and stretch this strength through richer, more cooperative play and to carry the result to a routine developmental check. AbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.","answer_md":"*A Pretend-Play score in the 700–800 band is wonderful news — your child's imagination is flourishing, and now it's about helping it bloom even brighter.*\n\n## In short\nA Pretend-Play AbilityScore in the **700–800 band is a strong, reassuring result** — it tells us your child is showing rich, age-appropriate make-believe play, which is one of the most powerful engines of social, language and thinking skills. The next steps are not about \"fixing\" anything; they're about **nurturing and stretching** this strength through richer play opportunities at home, and a gentle review at your next check-in to keep building on solid ground. This is a band to celebrate.\n\n## What this strength means\nPretend play — feeding a doll, making a block \"drive\" like a car, hosting an imaginary tea party — is how young children rehearse the real world. A score in this band suggests your child can:\n- **Use objects symbolically** (a banana becomes a phone, a box becomes a boat).\n- **Take on roles and act out simple stories**, sometimes inviting you or other children in.\n- **Sequence ideas in play** — putting teddy to bed, then \"cooking\" breakfast.\n\nThese are foundations for **flexible thinking, empathy, narrative language and turn-taking** with friends. Children playing in this band are usually ready to be gently stretched towards more complex, cooperative and story-rich play.\n\n## How to keep it blooming\n- **Add a layer, don't take over** — if your child is feeding a doll, wonder aloud, \"Is teddy hungry too? What shall we cook?\" Offering one new idea invites richer storylines.\n- **Open-ended materials** — boxes, scarves, blocks, simple figures and dress-up items spark more imagination than single-purpose toys.\n- **Bring in playmates** — cooperative pretend play with siblings or peers stretches negotiation, sharing and language.\n- **Narrate and follow their lead** — let your child be the director; you are the willing co-star.\n\n## When to review\nThere is nothing here that signals concern. A score this strong is best **carried forward to your next routine developmental check** so a clinician can see the whole picture across all areas — play, language, motor and social skills — and confirm your child is tracking well across the board. If any *other* area feels uneven to you, that is always worth a conversation.\n\n## The Pinnacle way\nAbilityScore® is part of Pinnacle’s developmental assessment. Diagnosis, where needed, requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional — never from an app or a number alone. Your child's [AbilityScore profile](/ask/what-is-the-abilityscore-and-how-is-it-calculated) is read by a clinician alongside everything else they observe, so a strength like this is placed in full context. Backed by 2.5 billion+ data points and 25 million+ therapy sessions across [our developmental network](/), our team can help you turn a strength into a springboard. Where play is being deliberately enriched, [play-based developmental support](https://www.pinnacleblooms.org/best-occupational-therapy-center-india-proven-improvement-rate) can guide the next steps.\n\n## Trusted sources\nAmerican Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) guidance on the developmental value of play; WHO Nurturing Care Framework on responsive caregiving and early learning; ASHA guidance on the links between symbolic play and language development.\n\n**Next step —** Want a clinician to read your child's full AbilityScore profile and plan the next stretch? [Book a developmental review with a Pinnacle clinician](/).\n\nThis is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.","canonical":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/my-child-s-pretend-play-abilityscore-is-700-800-what-are-the-next-steps","editorial":{"reviewed_at":"2026-06-11T20:12:18.613642+00:00","reviewed_by":null,"developed_by":"SETU Consortium · Pinnacle Blooms Network"},"alternates":[{"href":"https://pinnacleblooms.org/ask/my-child-s-pretend-play-abilityscore-is-700-800-what-are-the-next-steps","lang":"en","indexable":true}],"dimensions":[{"key":"abilities","label":"Abilities"}],"meta_title":"Pretend-Play AbilityScore 700–800: Next Steps","meta_robots":"index, follow, max-image-preview:large","everyday_tip":"Follow your child's pretend play and add just one new idea — 'Is teddy hungry too?' — then let them stay the director while you happily play along.","published_at":"2026-06-10T11:42:00.174877+00:00","reading_paths":[{"key":"understand","items":[{"lang":"en","slug":"what-is-pretend-play-in-child-development","title":"Pretend-Play in Child Development","reason":"Same topic"},{"lang":"en","slug":"what-does-pretend-play-represent-developmentally-and-when-is-a-delay-in-it-clinically-significant","title":"What Pretend-Play represents and when delay is significant","reason":"Same topic"},{"lang":"en","slug":"which-icf-functioning-domain-does-pretend-play-map-to-in-early-childhood","title":"Which ICF Functioning Domain Does Pretend-Play Map To?","reason":"Same topic"}],"label":"Understand the subject","total":3},{"key":"signs","items":[{"lang":"en","slug":"what-does-a-delay-in-pretend-play-mean-for-my-child","title":"What Does a Delay in Pretend-Play Mean for My Child?","reason":"Same topic"}],"label":"Recognise signs & concerns","total":1},{"key":"assess","items":[{"lang":"en","slug":"how-is-pretend-play-assessed","title":"How is 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simple daily activities help build a child's Pretend-Play?","reason":"Same topic"}],"label":"At home & in everyday life","total":3}],"what_to_watch":"This band signals a strength, not a concern. Keep an eye on whether pretend play is growing more complex and cooperative over time, and note if any other area — language, motor or social skills — feels uneven, which is always worth raising at a check-in.","authority_links":[{"url":"https://www.healthychildren.org","label":"AAP HealthyChildren.org — the developmental power of play"},{"url":"https://nurturing-care.org","label":"WHO Nurturing Care Framework — responsive caregiving and early learning"},{"url":"https://www.asha.org","label":"ASHA — symbolic play and language development"}],"last_reviewed_at":"2026-06-10T11:42:00.174877+00:00","meta_description":"A Pretend-Play AbilityScore of 700–800 is a strong result. Here's how to nurture your child's imagination and what to review at the next check.","related_materials":[],"related_techniques":[]}