The below resources are referenced from the CDC recommended milestones: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html
Although we recognize that not all children develop along the same trajectory, we do recognize that there is a general trend in which children develop speech and language skills. We use these milestones as a very basic guide when determining if speech and language intervention is appropriate and what skills need to be worked on through formal goals and objectives. In this post, we will be discussing basic expressive and receptive language milestones as a quick guide for you to reference when considering your child for speech and language intervention.
Receptive Language (your child’s ability to comprehend language):
*6-9 months:
-Turns towards sounds and voices
-Responds to name
*12-18 months:
-Able to understand simple instructions/commands
-Understands “no” by pausing briefly or stopping
-Begin pointing to objects when asked
*24 months:
-Able to follow one-step directions and beginning to follow two-step directions
-Points to at least 2 body parts when asked
*36 months:
-Follows two-step directions consistently
-Answers simple and more complex wh-questions (what, where, who, etc.)
Expressive Language (your child’s ability to express themselves functionally):
*6-9 months:
-Laughs
-Makes vocalizations (babbles single syllables, says “mama” or “dada”)
-Waves “bye”
*12-18 months:
-Able to say 1 or more words (closer to 12 months)
-Beginning to imitate vocalizations and sounds
-Uses about 10-20 single words (closer to 18 months)
*24 months:
-Beginning to put two words together (mommy go, daddy up, etc.)
-Has a vocabulary of about 50 words
-Can understand about 50% of what they are saying
*36 months:
-Combining 3 or more-word sentences
-Asks wh-questions (who, what, where, etc.)
-Uses action words consistently
-Beginning to use personal pronouns (I, me, we, etc.)
-Understand about 75-80% of what they are saying
Please refer to the graphic below from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association for a concise overview of speech and language milestones.
Helpful handout from the CDC!
Comments