Language Milestones
Hello there! Chances are if you are visiting our website, you are concerned about your child's speech and/or language. Believe it or not, there are still pediatricians out there that continue to tell worried parents to just "wait and see" if their child starts to talk. Current research on the brain tells us the OPPOSITE. Begin intervention early (if appropriate) because the brain is most malleable from birth to 3 years old. Yes-we can actually change (create new neural pathways) in our babies' brains! Review the following milestones carefully. Remember that each individual child is unique but do reach out to us if there are red flags. AKP Speech Therapy PLLC offers free phone screenings.
3-6 months
Produces vowel sounds and cooing
Social smile, giggles, shows pleasure
Enjoys interactions with caregivers
Makes eye contact with people talking to them
Takes turns vocalizing
Red Flags
Limited eye contact
No joyful interactions with caregiver
6-9 months
Beginning to understand phrases such as “want more?” & “come here”
Tries to imitate some actions and sounds
Babbles using repeated consonant-vowel syllable (mamama)
Vocalizes with eye contact to communicate
Responds to name and looks at family members when they’re named
Red Flags
No consonant sounds/ babbling
No back and forth interactions of sounds, smiles, facial expressions
9-12 months
Says first word
Babbling now consists of combining various vowels and consonants with rhythmic pattern
Points and uses gestures more purposefully to influence the behavior of others
Imitates actions, sounds, and dancing
Follows highly routine directions with cues
Understands 50 words and phrases including “no”
Red Flags
No gestures
Not responding to name
No babbling
No joint attention
12-15 months
Says about 10 words
Uses 10 or more gestures (shakes head “no,” waves, blows kiss, etc.)
Follows 1 step directions with prompts
Imitates sounds in play (animal sounds, environmental sounds)
Answers “where” questions by looking toward an object/person or pointing in book
Red Flags
No words
Not following routine directions
Uses gestures more than verbal attempts
15-18 months
Says 15-50 single words
Follows 1-step directions without gestures
Speech is ~25% intelligible
Points to common objects, body parts, and to what he/she wants
Answers yes/ no questions verbally or with nod/shake
Red Flags
Says fewer than 10 words
Unable to identify familiar vocabulary
Not following routine directions
18-24 months
Says 200 words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, social phrases)
Understands 300 words
Follows 2 simple step directions
Speech is ~50% intelligible
Puts 2-3 words “more juice”
Uses words more than gestures to communicate
Verbally makes a choice when offered 2 options
Red Flags
Says fewer than 50 words
Does not follow 1 step directions
Not combining 2 words together
24-30 months
Says 450 words
Follows more complex commands (understands size concepts)
Speaks in 2-3 word phrases most of the time
Asks and answers who, what, and where questions
Uses verb+ing and pronouns (I, me, my, mine, it)
Red Flags
No back and forth conversational turn-taking
Says fewer than 100 words
Does not answer who, what, where questions
Does not combine 2 words together
30-36 months
Says nearly 1000 words
Speech is 75% intelligible
Asks and answers why questions
Speaks in 4-5 word sentences
Talks about events/objects not present
Uses more pronouns (he, she, we)
Red Flags
Says fewer than 200 words
Not following 1-2 step commands
Does not speak in short phrases