Early identification and treatment of hearing, speech and language disorders can prevent problems with behavior, learning, reading and social interactions. The milestones listed below will help you to detect potential hearing or speech problems in your child at a very young age. Even if a hearing loss was not detected during your child’s infant screening, it is important to continually monitor speech and language development.
Birth-3 Months
- Startled by loud sounds
- Soothed by caretakers’ voices
- Produces different cries for different reasons
- Coos
3-6 Months
- Reacts to the sound of your voice
- Turns eyes and head in the direction of the source of sounds
- Enjoys rattles and noisy toys
7-10 Months
- Responds to his/her own name
- Begins to understand “mama,” “dada,” “bye-bye” and other common words
- Turns and looks in direction of sounds
- Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
- Babbles a variety of sounds and syllables
- Begins to use gestures to communicate wants and needs
11-15 Months
- Imitates and matches sounds with own speech production (though frequently unintelligible) especially in response to human voices or loud noises
- Locates or points to familiar people or objects when asked
- Understands words by making appropriate responses or behavior:
- “Where’s the dog?”
- “Find the truck.”
- Begins to use first words
15-18 Months
- Identifies things in response to questions such as body parts, animals sounds and familiar pictures in books
- Uses some single words; while not complete or perfectly pronounced, the words should be clearly meaningful
- Uses p, b, m, h, w in words
- Follows simple spoken directions
- Learns new words quickly
2 Years
- Uses everyday words heard at home or at daycare/school
- Enjoys being read to and shown pictures in books; points out pictures upon request
- Follows two-part directions like “Get the spoon and put it on the table”
- Recognizes and shows interest in familiar television shows as shown by words or actions
- Begins to put words together to make simple phrases
- “More milk”
- “Bye-bye car”
2 ½ Years
- Says or sings short rhymes and songs; enjoys music
- Has a vocabulary of 250-300 words
- Investigates noises or tells others when interesting sounds are heard:
- Car door slamming
- Telephone ringing
- Uses k, g, f, t, d and n in words
- Uses phrases and short sentences to name and request desired items, comments about things happening within the environment, asks and answers questions
- Speech is understood 50% of the time by familiar people and unfamiliar people
3 Years
- Understands and uses a variety of words including verbs, pronouns and adjectives
- Answers simple who, what and where questions
- Uses pronouns and plural forms
- Begins to use longer utterances
- Has a vocabulary of 1000 words
- Speech is understood 75% of the time.
4 Years
- Hears and understands most of what is said at home and/or at school
- Consistently follows more complex directions
- Talks about what happened during the day
- Keeps a conversation going
5 Years
- Speech should be understood by most people, although some words may still be mispronounced – such as the /s/ sound, particularly in blends with other consonants (e.g., “street,” “sleep,” “ask”).
- Tells a short story
- Talks in different ways depending on the listener and the place. Uses shorter sentences with younger children and talks louder when in a noisier environment
- Effectively relays information and communicates with others in a variety of settings
If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s development of communication skills, call Heuser Hearing Institute at (502) 584-3573 for more information or to schedule an appointment.