What should my child be able to do by the age of 1?
| Hearing and Understanding | Talking |
|---|
Birth-3 Months - Startles to loud sounds
- Quiets or smiles when spoken to
- Seems to recognize your voice and quiets if crying
- Increases or decreases sucking behavior in response to sound
| Birth-3 Months - Makes pleasure sounds (cooing, gooing)
- Cries differently for different needs
- Smiles when sees you
|
4-6 Months - Moves eyes in direction of sounds
- Responds to changes in tone of your voice
- Notices toys that make sounds
- Pays attention to music
| 4-6 Months - Babbling sounds more speech-like with many different sounds, including p, b and m
- Chuckles and laughs
- Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
- Makes gurgling sounds when left alone and when playing with you
|
7 Months-1 Year - Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
- Turns and looks in direction of sounds
- Listens when spoken to
- Recognizes words for common items like "cup", "shoe", "book", or "juice"
- Begins to respond to requests (e.g. "Come here" or "Want more?")
| 7 Months-1 Year - Babbling has both long and short groups of sounds such as "tata upup bibibibi"
- Uses speech or noncrying sounds to get and keep attention
- Uses gestures to communication (waving, holding arms to be picked up)
- Imitates different speech sounds
- Has one or two words (hi, dog,dada, mama) around first birthday, although sounds may not be clear
|
How can I encourage early language learning?
- Get your child's hearing checked. Recurring ear infections or fluid/wax build up can impede your child's speech and language.
- Encourage vocal play and sound/word attempts by looking at him/her and imitating the vocalizations.
- Utilize nursery rhymes and songs that use gestures to encourage joint attention and following directions (ex. peekaboo, pat-a-cake, ring around the rosy, itsy bitsy spider, teddy bear teddy bear, if you're happy and you know it, wheels on the bus)
- Utilize turn-taking games such as bubble-blowing, throwing a ball, puzzle play and encourage request or gesture for 'my turn'. This will teach turn-taking for use in conversation.
- Add sound effects to toy animals, cars, etc. to encourage easy speech sounds and sound combinations
- Name objects in your environment to encourage attention and labeling
- Narrate what you are doing while you do it (ex. walk-walk-walk, brush-brush-brush, pop-pop)
- Talk about colors, descriptive words (big,little,wet,etc.)
- Practice counting. Count toes and fingers, or steps as you walk up them.
What should my child be able to do from 1-2 years of age?
| Hearing and Understanding | Talking |
|---|
- Points to a few body parts when asked.
- Follows simple commands and understands simple questions ("Roll the ball," "Kiss the baby," "Where's your shoe?").
- Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes.
- Points to pictures in a book when named.
| - Says more words every month.
- Uses some one- or two- word questions ("Where kitty?" "Go bye-bye?" "What's that?").
- Puts two words together ("more cookie," "no juice," "mommy book").
- Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
|
What should my child be able to do from 2-3 years of age?
| Hearing and Understanding | Talking |
|---|
- Understands differences in meaning ("go-stop," "in-on," "big-little," "up-down").
- Follows two requests ("Get the book and put it on the table").
- Listens to and enjoys hearing stories for longer periods of time
| - Has a word for almost everything.
- Uses two- or three- words to talk about and ask for things.
- Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds.
- Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time.
- Often asks for or directs attention to objects by naming them.
|
What should my child be able to do from 3-4 years of age?
| Hearing and Understanding | Talking |
|---|
- Hears you when you call from another room.
- Hears television or radio at the same loudness level as other family members.
- Answers simple "who?", "what?", "where?", and "why?" questions.
| - Talks about activities at school or at friends' homes.
- People outside of the family usually understand child's speech.
- Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words.
- Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words.
|
What should my child be able to do from 4-5 years of age?
| Hearing and Understanding | Talking |
|---|
- Hears you when you call from another room.
- Hears television or radio at the same loudness level as other family members.
- Answers simple "who?", "what?", "where?", and "why?" questions.
| - Talks about activities at school or at friends' homes.
- People outside of the family usually understand child's speech.
- Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words.
- Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words.
|
*More helpful tips to encourage early language development.....
- Talk while doing things and going places. During a walk, for example, point to familiar objects and say their names. "I see a dog. The dog says 'woof.' This is a big dog. This dog is brown."
- Use simple speech (1-2 word phrases) that is easy for your child to understand or imitate.
- Emphasize specific sounds while you look around a room. Say "t-t-t-t" for clock as you draw attention to the clock ticking. Make a "kkkk" sound to imitate the sound of the static on the tv or the coffeemaker. Make a "ssss" sound when you see a picture of a snake in a book. Recognizing and imitating these sounds will become important when your child is introduced to phonics in preschool and kindergarten.
- Read books and have your child point to pictures that you name.
- Have your child name pictures.
* charts obtained from "The American Speech Language and Hearing Association website: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01.htm