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Concerned about your child’s social skills?

Socializing

Is Your Child Having Difficulty Making Friends? Social skills in childhood are the group of abilities your child needs to make friends.  These abilities include perspective-taking, empathy, play skills, sharing and collaboration skills, and communication skills.  Social development progresses from the early skills of parallel play, to conversation, and finally into the ability to develop deep and lasting friendships. Children having difficulty with social skills likely need help finding common interests with others, starting conversations, or taking the perspective of others. Trouble with social skills can be a trying and even heart-breaking experience for a child and family. In this section, you will find topics like social presence, conversations, perspective-taking, and insight. Visit this page for general information on social skills.

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Insight

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What is Insight in Childhood? Insight in childhood is the ability to understand who you are personally, emotionally, and in relationships. If insight is a concern with a child, you will notice they struggle to describe emotions and discuss personal experiences.  A child or teen may seem to overreact to distressing events and be unable&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Struggling to Explain Their Feelings?

Insight in Psychology: Definition, Types, and What to Do - Cadey

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Is Your Child Struggling to Explain Their Feelings?

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Concerned about your child’s focus and attention?

Focusing

Is Your Child Having Trouble Paying Attention? Focusing skills in childhood are about paying attention to information in the environment. For example, kids need to pay attention in the classroom to perform well in school. They need to be able to focus on their peers to make friends on the playground. Finally, the ability to pay attention is needed to follow directions at home and to navigate the community. Attention and focus problems are often evident both at home and in the classroom. Focusing problems include challenges with attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. If your child is hyperactive, they may be fidgety and move around constantly. Impulsive children often act without thinking. Children who are inattentive tend to drift easily off-topic, daydream, and lose focus often. Both hyperactive and inattentive children may have trouble sitting still and seem to bounce from one activity to the next, lacking direction. Visit this page for general focusing information.

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Internally Focused

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What is Internal Focus in Childhood? Internal focus in childhood is the tendency to ignore what is happening in the social environment. For example, an internally focused child might stack blocks in the corner and not even notice a fire drill going on in the room. Parents may say, “once he gets focused on a&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child In Their Own World?

Is Your Child in Their Own World? - Cadey

Is Your Child In Their Own World?

Concerned about your child’s motor skills or sensory needs?

Moving and Sensing

Is Your Child Struggling With Coordination, Sensory Awareness, and Motor Skills? Moving and sensing skills in childhood include gross motor skills (running, jumping, climbing), fine motor skills (handwriting, stringing beads, building with blocks), and sensory regulation (responding to lights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch sensations). Children can have strengths and weaknesses in several of these areas without any cause for concern. In the articles that follow, you can learn about the types of sensorimotor skills that can impact your child’s development and whether or not intervention is needed. The articles in this facet include topics such as coordination, handwriting, body space awareness, and sensory sensitivity. Visit this page for general information about moving and sensing.

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Repetitive Behavior

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What are Repetitive Behaviors in Childhood? Repetitive behaviors in childhood are repeated behaviors like flapping, spinning, bouncing, or pacing that are commonly associated with a developmental disability. These often rhythmic behaviors may increase in the presence of stress, anxiety, or excitement. Psychologists refer to these under the title of ‘Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors (RRBs).’ Although&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Flapping Arms, Tapping Fingers, or Spinning in Circles?

Repetitive Behaviors in Children: Everything You Need to Know - Cadey

Is Your Child Flapping Arms, Tapping Fingers, or Spinning in Circles?

Concerned about your child’s communication skills?

Communicating

Is Your Child Having Difficulty Expressing or Understanding Language? Communication in childhood is the ability to connect with other people through verbal (using words to express oneself and understand others) or nonverbal means (using eye contact, gestures, and facial expressions). Children with difficulty in communicating likely need help making friends. The most important skill is called reciprocal communication, which is the ability to have a back-and-forth conversation. In the following articles, you will find information about nonverbal communication in terms of gesture use, eye contact, and emotional expression. Communication skills also include expressing one’s thoughts (expressive language), understanding communication from other people (receptive language), and communicating socially with peers (pragmatic language). Visit this page for general information on communication problems.

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Young boy holding a cell phone to his ear while his other hand is gesturing to please wait.

Expressive Language Discrepancy

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What is Expressive Language Discrepancy in Childhood? Expressive language discrepancy in childhood refers to a child’s tendency to talk much more than they listen.  Expressive language is saying what you want to say. Receptive language is understanding what others are saying. Expressive language discrepancy means that the child’s expressive language is much better than receptive. Put&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Much Better at Talking Than Listening?

Expressive Language Discrepancy in Children- Cadey

Is Your Child Much Better at Talking Than Listening?

One young child shows a toy elephant to another young child.

Sharing and Showing

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What is Sharing and Showing in Childhood? Sharing and showing in childhood is the ability for young children to connect socially by presenting their toys or other objects to others. Toddlers and young children may share objects of interest with their parents, siblings, teachers, and preschool classmates.  This skill is most important in the preschool&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Not Making Social Connections By Sharing and Showing?

Sharing Issues in Children: Signs, Causes, What to Do - Cadey

Is Your Child Not Making Social Connections By Sharing and Showing?

Two teens are looking excitedly at a paper one of them is holding.

Perspective-Taking

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What is Perspective-Taking in Childhood? Perspective-taking in childhood is understanding that another person’s thoughts and feelings are different from one’s own. Children with good perspective-taking skills are able to assess what another person may be thinking based on the situation. For example, if a friend got a good grade on a test, the friend is&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Unable to Take Another’s Perspective?

Perspective-Taking in Childhood: Definition and Resources - Cadey

Is Your Child Unable to Take Another’s Perspective?

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Scripted or Echoed Language

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What is Scripted or Echoed Language in Childhood? Scripted or echoed language in childhood is the tendency to copy phrases out of movies or videos. For example, your child may have a favorite YouTuber who your child incessantly quotes.  Children with scripted language tend to take these phrases out of context. It feels like this&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Repeating Phrases from Movies or Videos?

Echolalia: Definition, Symptoms, Causes, What to Do - Cadey

Is Your Child Repeating Phrases from Movies or Videos?

Mother and daughter sweetly looking into each others' eyes, with the daughter holding the mother's face.

Eye Contact

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What is Eye Contact in Childhood? Eye contact in childhood is the ability to connect with and show interest in other people by looking them in the eye.  Eye contact is interesting because people tend to believe that eye contact is needed throughout a conversation. It is actually more valuable to have eye contact as&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Not Looking At People?

Poor Eye Contact in Children: Causes and Resources - Cadey

Is Your Child Not Looking At People?

Young boy holding his arms out to the sides in a questioning gesture.

Gesture Use

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What is Gesture Use in Childhood? Gesture use in childhood is the ability to communicate with hands, arms, and body language.  Gesture use is interesting because it turns out that gestures are pretty crucial in terms of nonverbal communication. When a child gestures, they are doing this as a form of communicative intent. Kids gesture&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Not Using Gestures To Communicate?

Child Not Using Gestures: Causes and What To Do - Cadey

Is Your Child Not Using Gestures To Communicate?

Concerned about your child’s behavior?

Behaving

Is Your Child Having Problems With Behavior? Behavior includes a person’s ability to follow directions, get along with others, and fully participate in home, school, and the community. It is important to note that most children will often misbehave as a part of typical development. Some research indicates that the average child misbehaves every 5-10 minutes. In the articles in this section, we will review the various behavior problems. You will understand when to be concerned and how to support your child in developing more appropriate behavior. Child behavior problems can take many different forms. In the articles that follow, you will learn about rigid behavior, rule-breaking, bossiness, and insistence on sameness. Visit this page for general information on behavior problems.

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Insistence on Sameness

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What is Insistence on Sameness in Childhood? Insistence on sameness in childhood is the tendency to get very upset when plans are changed or when daily routines do not go as expected. Some children are more inflexible than others and tend to use negotiation skills when things do not go their way. As a parent,&hellip; Continue reading Is Your Child Insisting That Things Go a Certain Way?

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