Developmental Milestones for Speech and Language
What Should Your Child be Saying?
Your newborn baby comes to you ready to learn language, as you now know!
Will he be talking by the time he's one?
Will he understand everything by his second birthday?
What exactly should he be saying at certain ages?
Most babies progress through the same developmental milestones stages when learning language but the pace at which they learn will be different. The sounds they choose to vocalize, the words they choose to say and the word combinations will be different among babies. No two babies are alike.
Babies will develop both receptive language skills and expressive language skills. Receptive language is what we understand and expressive language is what we say.
By the time your child reaches her fifth birthday she will accomplish a most remarkable feat - she will be talking like a little adult. She will absorb the sound system of her language and know when some phonemes just don't fit together, she will acquire the rules of the language without anyone teaching her, she will have an expansive repertoire of words and she will learn how to use the language to get exactly what she wants.
If you're curious to find out what your child should now be saying, jump to the age range for your child in the Speech and Language Developmental Milestones chart:
If you feel that your child's language acquisition is not progressing, or she is not where she should be, you might consider talking with a certified speech language pathologist to help you discern if early intervention speech therapy is necessary.
Or ou may speak with your child’s pediatrician.
Remember not to wait too long to seek professional advice.
As time moves forward your child's peers will continue to develop their language skills. The language achievement gap may get larger and larger.
