What a 600–700 AbilityScore® Means for Feeding Selectivity

A 600–700 AbilityScore® band is a snapshot, not a sentence — here's what it really tells you about your child's feeding journey.

In short

An AbilityScore® in the 600–700 band describes where your child sits on their own feeding-development map at one moment in time — a mid-range picture for Sensory-Based Feeding Selectivity. In plain terms: your child has real, identifiable strengths to build on, alongside specific sensory or mealtime areas that respond well to targeted support. It is an encouraging, very workable starting point — not a label, and never a ceiling. The number's true value is as a baseline you can measure future progress against.

What this band tends to mean day-to-day

Children whose feeding profile falls in this range often:

• accept a limited but stable range of foods, frequently sorted by texture, colour or temperature
• show distress or refusal with new or "mixed" textures, rather than simple fussiness
• eat well in familiar settings but struggle with change, pressure or unfamiliar foods
• have clear strengths — perhaps good appetite for preferred foods, or willingness to sit at the table — that therapy can extend outward

This band usually signals that structured, playful feeding support tends to bring meaningful gains, because there is already a foundation to grow from. It is a profile of possibility.

How to read the number wisely

The score is a direction, not a destiny. Two children with the same band can look quite different at the table, which is why the band is always interpreted by a clinician alongside your observations, your child's medical history, and how mealtimes actually feel at home. What matters most is the trend — re-measuring against this same baseline shows whether support is working.

The Pinnacle way

Developmental measurement supports care planning; diagnosis requires an appropriately qualified healthcare professional., under the care of a qualified clinician — never from an online form or a single number. Our feeding and occupational therapy team interprets your child's AbilityScore® baseline within a warm, structured plan, and partners with speech therapy where chewing and oral-motor skills need building too. Across 70+ centres and 25 million+ therapy sessions, the goal is always the same: your child eating with comfort and confidence. Start by exploring how we work with families.

Trusted sources

WHO ICD-11 (6B83, feeding and eating disorders); American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on responsive feeding (healthychildren.org); American Speech-Language-Hearing Association on paediatric feeding and swallowing.

Next step — Turn a number into a plan. Book a feeding assessment with a Pinnacle clinician to understand your child's band and the gentle next steps.

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