A Parent's Guide to Speech, Hearing, and Language Development

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, so there is no better time to brush up on your developmental milestone knowledge! Remember- early intervention is key! Talk to your pediatrician if your child is not meeting these milestones to determine if a referral to a speech-language pathologist or audiologist might be necessary.

BIRTH TO 3 MONTHS

• Reacts to loud sounds

• Calms down or smiles when spoken to

• Recognizes your voice and calms down if crying

• When feeding, starts or stops sucking in response to sound

• Coos and makes pleasure sounds

• Has a special way of crying for different needs

• Smiles when he or she sees you

• Enjoys physical contact

• Makes eye contact

4 TO 6 MONTHS

• Follows sounds with his or her eyes

• Responds to changes in the tone of your voice

• Notices toys that make sounds

• Pays attention to music

• Babbles in a speech-like way and uses many different sounds, including sounds that begin with p, b, and m

• Laughs

• Babbles when excited or unhappy

• Makes gurgling sounds when alone or playing with you

• Expresses a variety of emotions

• Develops strategies to calm self

• Explores body parts visually and with touch

• Interested in people's faces

7 MONTHS TO 1 YEAR

• Turns and looks in the direction of sounds

• Listens when spoken to

• Understands words for common items such as “cup,” “shoe,” or “juice”

• Responds to requests (“Come here”)

• Babbles using long and short groups of sounds (“tata, upup, bibibi”)

• Babbles to get and keep attention

• Communicates using gestures such as waving or holding up arms

• Imitates different speech sounds

• Has one or two words (“Hi,” “dog,” “Dada,” or “Mama”) by first birthday

• Responds appropriately to people's facial expressions

• Enjoys playing social games (patty cake, peek-a-boo)

• Enjoys watching others and is interested in what others are doing

1 YEAR TO 2 YEARS

• Knows a few parts of the body and can point to them when asked

• Follows simple commands (“Roll the ball”) and understands simple questions (“Where’s your shoe?”)

• Enjoys simple stories, songs, and rhymes

• Points to pictures, when named, in books

• Acquires new words on a regular basis

• Uses some one- or two-word questions (“Where kitty?” or “Go bye-bye?”)

• Puts two words together (“More cookie”)

• Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words

• Clingy to parents/caregivers

• Identifies self in mirror

• Begins to assert independence or resist adult control

• Interacts with other children and expresses interest in what other children are doing

• Temper tantrums are typical at this age

• Shows preferences for certain toys

• Recognizes familiar people vs. strangers

It is important that you support and facilitate these skills by playing with your child on their level- the floor. Take time every day to sing, read, and play toys with your child. Being playful with your child builds a strong foundation for future skill development. Below are some of our therapists' favorite toys for toddlers:

Content retrieved from: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/speech-and-language