• Difficulty establishing correct pencil grip
• Challenges using cutlery, scissors or in–hand tools
• Struggles with buttons, zips or fastening
• Manipulating toys & puzzles
• Avoids fine motor play or tabletop work

• Poor coordination of arm or legmovements
• May fall over / trip more often than peers
• Struggles to maintain upright sitting posture at table
• Fatigues easily
• Bumps into things or people often
• Not developing a dominant handside
• Avoids PE type games / ball games / hopping / star jumps
• May fear swings or slide

• Avoiding or refusing certain foods/ textures
• Excessive drool
• ‘Messy’ eating
• Overstuffs mouth / food left in the mouth
• Slow or inefficient chewing
• Food falling from the mouth

• Over responsive or heightened reaction to sound, movement,touchor taste
• Under responsive to certain sensations, often misses information or doesn’t notice, can have ahigh pain toleranceor poor sense of danger, doesn’t notice cuts/bruises
• Seeks out sensations. Constantly moving, jumping, touching, crashing or bumping
• Easily distracted by visual or auditory stimuli
• Difficulty with interoceptive senses–struggles to toilet train, doesn’t notice when too hot/too cold
• Struggles to regulate emotions through various sensation experiences

• Talking playing looking and engaging with other people
• Able to listen, and respond appropriately to others
• Being flexible, a team player
• Able to problem solve or move on

• Not developing beyond parallel play
• Doesn’t initiate play, or struggles to expand play ideas
• Repetitive in play, inflexible
• Avoids sharing toys, struggles with turn taking

• Emotionally reactive–show their feelings in behaviour
• Difficulty copingwith change
• Inability to calm self when upset
• Often results in challenging behaviours
• Difficulty using language to describe emotions or problems
• Poor resilience or problem solving skills

• Unable to concentrate or easily distracted
• Difficulty following instructions
• Tires easily
• Not keeping up with schoolwork or difficulty learning new tasks
• Makes letter or number reversals
• Tries to avoid handwriting / homework

• Problems recognising letters andnumbers
• Difficulty with spacing and sizing of letters, and writing on the lines
• Difficulty copying shapes, letters and numbers
• Difficulty finding objects
• Missing words often when reading
• Slow with reading compared to peers
• Slow with copying from the white board

• Not meeting early motor milestones within typical age range
• Fussy or reactive to sensations
• Fearful or avoidant of typical play
• Has trouble eating, sleeping or using the toilet

Learn more about developmental milestones