Development of Speech and Language
Every child develops at a different rate, but most go through the same stages. Listed below are the average ages of some important language and comprehension milestones as developed by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Please note that like with any developmental timeline, these stages may be quite varied and perhaps met in a different order. A child who accomplishes these milestones differently may not necessarily have a developmental delay or speech disorder (and a child who hits these stages early is not necessarily a prodigy!).
- birth to 3 months
- startles to loud sounds
- smiles when spoken to
- responds to pleasure with 'cooing' noises
- 4 months to 6 months
- notices and pays attention to sounds and music
- shifts eyes in direction of sounds
- makes babbling noises that resemble speech
- 7 months to 1 year
- recognizes basic familiar words such as cup or ball
- imitates different speech sounds
- produces first words such as bye-bye or mama
- 1 year to 2 years
- listens to simple stories
- identifies pictures by name when directed (point to the cow, e.g.)
- speaks two-word sentences such as more juice or where daddy?
- 2 years to 3 years
- understands differences in meaning for basic words (up-down or in-out)
- produces three-word sentences
- can name most objects
- 3 years to 4 years
- understands questions
- talks about events
- speech is understood by most people
- 4 years to 5 years
- pays attention and responds to stories and questions
- speaks clearly
- tells detailed, ordered stories
Problems can arise at any stage of development, as well as much later in life. They can be the result of a congenital defect, a developmental disorder, or an injury. If a problem is suspected, an assessment should be made by an SLP who can diagnose and treat communication disorders.
Read more about this topic: Speech And Language Pathology In School Settings
Famous quotes containing the words development of, development, speech and/or language:
“The experience of a sense of guilt for wrong-doing is necessary for the development of self-control. The guilt feelings will later serve as a warning signal which the child can produce himself when an impulse to repeat the naughty act comes over him. When the child can produce his on warning signals, independent of the actual presence of the adult, he is on the way to developing a conscience.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“Theories of child development and guidelines for parents are not cast in stone. They are constantly changing and adapting to new information and new pressures. There is no “right” way, just as there are no magic incantations that will always painlessly resolve a child’s problems.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“I thought my razor was dull until I heard his speech and that reminds me of a story that’s so dirty I’m ashamed to think of it myself.”
—S.J. Perelman, U.S. screenwriter, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, and Norman Z. McLeod. Groucho Marx, Horsefeathers, as a newly-appointed college president commenting on the remarks of Huxley College’s outgoing president (1932)
“The reader uses his eyes as well as or instead of his ears and is in every way encouraged to take a more abstract view of the language he sees. The written or printed sentence lends itself to structural analysis as the spoken does not because the reader’s eye can play back and forth over the words, giving him time to divide the sentence into visually appreciated parts and to reflect on the grammatical function.”
—J. David Bolter (b. 1951)