Infants watch your face and will look at the pictures of book. They enjoy hearing the sound effects you make, "Moo-Moo for the cow", and seeing the pictures. Soon they learn that the sounds they make interests you and they begin to mimic sounds.
Babies talk with their bodies---they stretch and wiggle when they want to change positions, or get down. They crawl over and pull themselves up on your leg when they want to be picked up. They bounce up and down when they are excited or happy. Babies get to know routines and respond, for example, when it is bath time they might pull on their clothes in anticipation of you taking off their clothing. Babies chew their fists when they are hungry.
Babies can make noise as soon as they are born and they will have learned a language and be able to put simple sentences together by age five.
Boys are usually a little slower than girls to learn to talk. If you are worried that your child is way behind in learning how to talk, it may be worth having their hearing checked. If that is not a problem contact a speech therapist for an evaluation.| Birth to 3 months | Gets attention by making happy noises. When people respond to noises, baby feels better and makes more happy noises |
| 3 to 6 months | Laughs, squeals and screams when upset. Make sounds like "moo-moo" and "goo-goo, ga-ga". They like to talk to themselves. Babies don't understand words yet but they understand the tone of your voice. |
| 6 to 9 months | They like conversations, listen, babble with words like, "mama", "dada". Parents listen and repeat back words they think the baby is saying. They understand, "bye-bye" and "no", even though they can't yet say the words. |
| 9 to 12 months | Recognize their name and turn their head when they hear it. Understand words like cup, bottle, car, and kitty, though most will not be able to say the words yet. They can carry out instruction such as " Give Mommy the toy", "Kiss Daddy goodnight", and "don't touch". |
| 12 to 15 months | Say their first words (more than mama and dada). Point to objects and name them. They understand phases like, "Don't touch", "Give me the ball", etc. |
| 15 to 18 months | Very chatty, tey say up to 20 words and understand about 100 words. They will repeat the last word you say in a phase, such as when you say," Want to ride in the car? They will say, "car" |
| 18 months to 2 years | They will be talking in sentences that no one can understand. They learn quicker if they are talked to by siblings and adults frequently. They begin to use combinations of words, such as, "more milk", "mama bye-bye". They love songs and nursery rhymes. |
| 2 - 2 1/2 years | They talk to toys and stuffed animals as they play. They can even change their voice like a ventriloquist as they play. They ask endless questions like, "Why?" and "What?". They love to listen to stories in a book and begin to learn that you are saying the words on the page. They learn to enjoy reading while sitting on your lap. |
| 2 1/2 to 3 years | They will have learned hundreds of words and speak well. They can say simple phrases such as the "Toy on bed". They might be able to count, but they don't understand numbers, but they like the rhyme. |
| 3 to 4 years | They begin to use simple sentences "I buyed lickle ball today". They make "mistakes" in grammar. You do not need to correct them. Simply confirm you understand then repeat the sentence with the correct grammar. They like fun word games like, "one-two buckle my shoe." |
| 4 to 5 years | They understand basic language . They still make "mistakes" in pronunciation, such as, "We had hamburgular for dinner". The best way to help them continue improve language skills is to chat happily with your child everyday. |
If your child is two years old and is still not talking or she says a few words but in comparison to her siblings and other children her age, she is way behind.rnrnYou will probably try to explain it away various excuses, hoping the child will catch up. Some children are early walkers some are early talkers, so you will tell yourself there is nothing to worry about. Unless there are other areas of slowness in the child's development parents will hesitate to seek medical advice.
Your doctor may refer you to a speech therapist. A speech therapist is a health professional trained to evaluate and treat people who have speech, language voice or swallowing disorders that will affect their ability to communicate.
The speech therapist will evaluate your child with special speech and language test; this can also include a hearing test as hearing difficulties can affect speech. Depending on the results the therapist may suggest activities you and your child can do at home to improve speech and language development. This can include reading to the child more regularly, speaking in short clear sentences, making it easy for your child to imitate you.
The therapist may also recommend group therapy or refer you to another professional for further evaluation such as an audiologist (hearing specialist) or development psychologist.rnrnSpeech development warning signsrnrnAbout 10% of all children have some difficulty learning language. Experts encourage parents to make sure that the child hearing is not impaired, also that his speech development falls within the normal range.
If you notice that your baby doesn't startle at loud sounds, this could be an indication of hearing problems, which in itself will affect speech also.rnrnIf your baby's eyes don't follow you around when your talking this could be another sign of hearing problems. A baby is naturally curious about speech and will generally follow you around the room with his eyes if you're talking or singing.
If your child is not doing this, it could be he can't hear any sounds to imitate. Get him checked out by your doctor.
If your child were not uttering any words at this stage it would be considered unusual. Most children start using 2-word combinations by 18 to 22 months. If your child were not putting two words together by the age of two and a half, this would be a red flag for language delay. In some cases, the problem has a social or environmental cause, such as the lack of communication and stimulation in the home. Parents can help develop their children's environmental skills by doing various tasks such as:rn
There is great variation in the onset of expressive language. Children generally understand ("receptive speech") far more than they can articulate themselves ("expressive language").rnrnGirls general develop the ability to communicate earlier than boys. Language can develop smoothly and continuously, or in spurts and jumps. Because language development varies, it's important not to compare your child's language and speech development to other children's language and speech development.rnrnSpeech and language problems can certainly create serious social, emotional and academic challenges for children, but the good news is that it is treatable. The help of a healthcare professional and the love and support of a family can ensure that your child will never be lost for words.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics
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