NOW EXCEPTING NEW CLIENTS
What should baby be doing?
Birth to 3 months
Startles at loud sounds.
Quiets or smiles when you talk.
Seems to recognize your voice.
Makes cooing sounds.
Differentiated cries.
makes eye contact.
Smiles at 3 months.
4 to 6 months
Coos and babbles when playing.
Makes speech-like babbling sounds, like pa, ba, and ma,
Giggles and laughs.
Makes sounds when happy or upset.
Turns toward sounds.
Enjoys music.
7 to 9 months
Turns when name is called.
Understands words for common items and people—words like cup, truck, juice, mommy and daddy.
Listens to songs and stories for a short time.
Babbles longer strings of sounds, like mama, babababa.
Uses sounds and gestures to get and keep attention.
10 to 12 months
Starts to respond to simple words and phrases, like “No,” “Come here,” “give me” and “more?”
Plays games: peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake.
Points to objects and shows them to others.
Uses gestures such as waving bye, reaching for “up,” and shaking head no.
Imitates different speech sounds.
Around 1 year, Says 1 or 2 words, like hi, dog, ball, dada, mama, or uh-oh.
What you can do to help....
Watch for ear infections.....frequent ear infections often result in delayed sound production and unintelligible speech.
Work on animal,sounds...moo, quack, meow. They are fun and motivating.
Imitate baby’s sounds and expressions.
Teach imitating movements such as, clapping, waving bye-bye, blowing kisses.
Talk about what you are doing and where you are going.
Give choices of food and toys.
What should toddler be doing?
12-18 months
Points to pictures in books,
Points to or can get many objects when asked,
Follows simple commands,
Listens a little more carefully to a story or song,
Says “no” and shakes head for “no.”
Asks for more,
Repeats animal sounds, baa, moo, quack,
Names family members,
Names pets,
Names familiar objects and pictures in books,
Repeats words when asked
Uses many words,
Mixes jargon, gestures, and words
Uses a sngle word for many things. eg. “Cup“ could mean: “I want a drink”, “Where is my cup?”
18-24 months
Understands names of everyday objects,
Understands many describing words (big, little, blue, fast)
Understands many verbs (eat, drink, run)
Understands many pronouns (I, me, she, him, her)
Follows,smple 2 step commands (Go in your room and get your shoes; Go in the kitchen and get your cup),
Starts understanding more complex directions, (Give me the big truck)
Starts understanding categories, (Apple is a food, cow is an animal)
Uses less jargon and more true words,
Uses different tones of voice (statements vs questions),
More speech sounds are emerging (f, s, sh)
Uses at least 50 words,
Uses pronouns I, me, and mine,
Starts using some descriptive words such as hot, big, good.
Repeats 2-3 word phrases on their own,
Tries to tell you about an event,
Uses his or her own name.
24-30 months
Understands longer and more complex sentences (When we get to the store, you will ride in the cart)
Follows and understands routines (gets shoes when you say “We’re going to Grandma’s house.“
Uses short sentences,
Responds to more questions asking who, what, where, and when,
Talks to him or herself (practicing)
Uses present tense -ing, and Starts using plural s,
Uses some feelings,
Speech is clear and understood by family members,
30-36 months
Understands spatial concepts (behind, in front, next to),
Understands comparative concepts (bigger, longer),
Understands questions asking how, who, what, where, when and why.
Understands number concepts (one, some, many),
Can follow three step,directions (open the box, take out the cup, and give it to me),
Understands what later means,
Uses“and” and “because”,
Describes recent events,
Still talks to him or herself to help understand things,
Asks questions.
What can you do to help.
Model Language!
Keep it simple and only use key words (“car“ rather than “here’s the car”)
Kepp a running dialogue (Get in the habit of talking out loud)
Use your hands to gesture, point, sign,
Be your child’s voice (Say what they are doing/playing with)
Play!
Name toys, food, colors, etc.
Change out toys to keep it interesting,
Limit toys in the room so it isn’t distracting,
Use occasional toys that make noise to peak interest level, but not every toy should make noise,
Point out what your child is doing
• Label what he/she is interested i
• Incorporate movement into play as physical movement can make things more interesting which may help stimulate vocabulary.