Milestones

We have created a list of milestones to help you determine if your child is meeting their speech and language milestones. These milestones come from the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). All children develop at their own pace and these milestones are just a guidelines. If you have concerns contact us to schedule a comprehensive evaluation.

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0-3 Months

Communication begins right from birth. In a child's first few months they show signs of early communication that will lay the foundation for their continued success throughout childhood.

Looks

Between birth and three months your baby should look at toys or faces for a few seconds at a time. Baby should seem to recognize loved ones and common objects. Baby should smile when spoken to or smiled at.

Listens

At this age your baby should quiet and/or smile when they hear your voice. They should alert to sounds and turn toward familiar voices.

Makes sounds

Between birth and three months your baby should make a variety of sounds and have different sounds when they are happy or upset. Baby should make sounds back and forth with caregivers. Baby should make coos like "oohh" and "ahhh".

4-6 Months

As your little one ages they continue to grow their communication skills are blooming. At this age you should begin to notice more interaction between baby and adults.

Listens

Between 4 and 6 months you should notice your little one smiling to get your attention and turning toward the sound of your voice. Baby may also babble back and forth with you.

Interacts

At this age babies may smile to get your attention. They begin to make sounds in response when you talk to them and engage in early turn-taking during interactions. Infants also start using eye contact, movements, or sounds to capture and maintain your attention. Babies may vocalize and become more responsive to emotional cues and facial expressions. They begin to track objects of interest with their eyes and may react to toys that make sounds.

7-9 Months

Between these months you will notice your little one have greater reactions toward others and begin to show recognition of more and more words.

Socializes

During this period, babies may smile independently to get your attention and begin to show more distinct facial expressions, such as happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise. They also start responding to their name and may look toward you when it's called. Your child will start showing more awareness of separation and react when a caregiver leaves by looking, reaching, or crying. Babies of this age will begin smiling and laughing during games like peek-a-boo.

Babbles

Baby should begin babbling long strings of sounds, like mamamama, upup, or babababa.

10-12 Months

As your baby approaches a year old their early social skills continue to develop and they may say their first word.

Interacts

By 10 months of age, babies typically begin to reach for objects, demonstrating improved hand-eye coordination. They also start to engage more actively in social interactions by pointing, waving, and showing or offering objects to others. This period marks the beginning of imitative behavior, where infants may mimic gestures such as blowing kisses or playing peek-a-boo.

Listens

At 10-12 months old, babies begin to respond to simple words and phrases, such as "Go bye-bye" and "Look at Mommy." They also start to imitate sounds they hear. They may show an interest in music and movement.

Says Words

By this age your baby may say their first simple word like "Byebye" or "momma".

13-18 Months

Between 13 and 18 months, toddlers begin to engage more actively in social interactions and communication. They will say more words and you will notice them gesturing to communicate.

Interacts

Your child may copy the actions of other children during play, such as taking toys out of a container when they see another child do it. They also start to show preferences by presenting objects they like to their caregivers. At this age, they may demonstrate affection by hugging a stuffed doll or other toys, as well as expressing love through physical gestures like hugs, cuddles, or kisses.

Talks, Gestures and Babbles

They may try to say one or two words beyond "mama" and "dada," such as "ba" for ball or "da" for dog. Pointing becomes a key tool for making requests, commenting, or seeking information. They start to shake their head for "no" and nod for "yes," and may wave "bye-bye" as a social gesture. At this stage, they often call a parent by name, such as "mama" or "dada," or another special name. Toddlers may clap, give high-fives, or make silly faces and stick out their tongues when excited. Additionally, they may experiment with combinations of sounds, syllables, and real words, often using speech-like inflections as part of their growing verbal communication.

Understanding Grows

They can look at a familiar object when it is named and start recognizing words for common objects, actions, and people in their lives. At this stage, they are also able to follow simple directions, especially when both words and gestures are used together. For example, a toddler might give you a toy when you hold out your hand and say, "Give me the toy." Additionally, they can follow specific instructions like "Give me the ball," "Hug the teddy bear," or "Show me your nose," showing increasing comprehension of language and the ability to respond appropriately.

19-24 Months

These months are characterized by an increased understanding and engagement in social and household routines.

Babbles and Talks

Between the ages of 19 and 24 months baby will begin trying to use a few more words and should be attempting to use three or more words. They should also be babbling long strings of sounds.

Imitates and Engages In Routines

Between 19 and 24 months children may point to something interesting to capture your attention. They may show understanding of routines by extending their hands for you to wash them or looking at a few pages of a book with you. As they begin to explore independence, they may also help dress themselves by pushing their arm through a sleeve or lifting their foot for a shoe. Their play is typically simple, like pushing a toy car, demonstrating an understanding of cause and effect. Imitation becomes a key part of their learning, as they begin copying adult chores, such as sweeping with a broom.

2-3 Years

Around 2-3 years old you can expect an explosion of language development in your little one.

Answers Questions

At this age, children begin to give reasons for things, such as saying they need a coat when it’s cold outside. They are curious and ask questions like “Why?” and “How?” and can answer simple questions, like “What do you do when you are sleepy?” or “Which one can you wear?” They also point to objects in a book when asked, such as "Where is the bear?"

Follows Directions

Follows two-step instructions like “Put the toy down and close the door.”

Follows simple routines when told, like helping to pick up toys when you say, “It’s clean-up time.”

Social Skills Mature

At this stage, children engage in pretend play with toys such as placing toy food on a plate. They often play next to other children and sometimes interact with them. They love showing off their abilities and say things like, “Look at me!”. When asked, they can say their name. They are aware of others' emotions like when someone is hurt or upset and look to adult faces for cues on how to react in new situations.

Vocabulary Grows

At this stage, children often say two or more words together with an action, such as “Doggie run.” They frequently combine words, though sometimes they repeat phrases like “baby – baby – baby sit down.” They try to gain attention with phrases like “Look at me!” and name things in books when prompted. They may say simple phrases like “More milk” and point to body parts. Beyond waving, they use gestures like blowing kisses or nodding. They also use pronouns like “I” and “me,” some plurals, and verb forms like “eating” or “looked.”

3-4 Years

At 3-4 years old, children experience rapid language development characterized by expanding vocabulary more complex sentences, and improving grammar.

Look

A 3 or4-year-old may pretend to read, either alone or with others. They can recognize familiar signs and logos, such as STOP. When separated from a caregiver, they usually calm down within 10 minutes, such as during a childcare drop-off. Additionally, they begin to notice other children and join in their play.

Articulation Improves

At 3-4 years old children are able to correctly produce common sounds, including "t," "k," "g," and "f,". By this age, they can say all the syllables in a word and pronounce the sounds correctly at the beginning, middle, and end of words. Most 4-year-olds speak smoothly without repeating sounds, words, or phrases. While their speech is largely understandable, they may still make mistakes with sounds that develop later, such as "l," "j," "r," "sh," "ch," "s," "v," "z," and "th." They can also pronounce consonant clusters like "tw" in "tweet" or "-nd" in "sand," although they may occasionally substitute sounds, such as saying "spway" for "spray." Overall, their speech is clear enough for familiar people to easily understand.

Asks and Answers

A 3- to 4-year-old may ask questions such as “who,” “what,” or “where,”. They are able to describe actions in pictures or books when prompted with words like “running,” “eating,” or “playing.” When asked, they can also say their first name.

4-5 Years

From ages 4 to 5 you will notice your child's language skills become more mature. By the end of this period you may feel they sounds almost like little adults.

Uses More Complex Grammar

Four and five year olds begin using more mature grammar including connecting ideas with words like "and" and "to." They begin to use irregular plural forms, such as "feet" or "men." Children also start to understand and use location words like "behind," "beside," and "between" to describe where things are. Additionally, they begin using more time-related words, such as "yesterday" and "tomorrow," correctly in conversation.

Vocabulary Grows

At 4-5 years old, children begin to use sentences that are four or more words long. Their sentences become more grammatically correct, longer, and more complex, allowing them to express themselves more clearly. They also start answering simple questions, such as "What is a coat for?" or "What is a crayon for?"

Socializes More Maturely

At 4-5 years old, children follow rules to play simple games. They also engage in imaginative play. Socially, they begin to initiate play with others and ask about other kids and friends who aren't there. Additionally, they show empathy by comforting others who are hurt or sad, often offering a hug to a crying friend. Children at this age also start adjusting their behavior depending on their environment, such as being quieter in a library or more active on the playground.

Tells Stories

At 4-5 years old, children begin to use more advanced language skills to describe their day and tell simple stories. They can talk about at least one event that happened, such as saying, "I played soccer." As they develop their storytelling abilities, they start to identify key elements like the main characters and settings of their stories.

Uses Many Sounds Appropriately

At 4-5 years old, children typically produce most consonant sounds correctly, making their speech easily understandable in conversation. They are able to say sounds like "y" and "v" in words, although they may still struggle with more complex sounds such as "s," "sh," "ch," "j," "ng," "th," "z," "l," and "r." Despite these occasional errors, their speech is generally clear enough that most people can understand what they are saying.

Reading Skills Begin to Emerge

At this age children are able to locate the front of a book and recognize its title. Many children at this age can recognize and name at least 10 letters of the alphabet and are often able to write their own name. They also start to imitate reading and writing from left to right. Additionally, they begin to blend word parts, such as combining "cup" and "cake" to form "cupcake," and they can identify simple rhyming words like "cat" and "hat," further developing their phonemic awareness.