Language Development 0-18 Months
What to Expect
Language development 0-18 months: There are certain milestones your child should reach immediately
following birth. Each day is a super fast and fun ride as you watch
them grow.
A baby goes from not even making eye contact and only crying...
...to looking
at you for the first time and surpising you with "Go?"
During the first 18 months, speech and language milestones are divided
into two
stages:
CHILD IS
PRE-INTENTIONAL: 0-8
Months
Children
at this age do not do anything because they planned it!
They don't have
the cognitive skills yet to create ideas in their minds and then act on
them through planned actions.
CHILD IS
INTENTIONAL BUT NOT CONVENTIONAL: 9-18 MONTHS (below)
Children
at this age now do things intentionally. They will pick up objects and
use them the right way. They begin to say sounds and words on purpose because they now have meaning.
Social/Play
- Smiles and recognizes familiar people
Social/Play
- Responds to environmental sounds (phone,
doorbell) and speech
- Can begin to show anger
Social/Play
- Responds to "look"
- Looks when name is called
- Begin to show fear from 6-12 months
CHILD IS INTENTIONAL BUT NOT CONVENTIONAL(9-18 MONTHS)
Receptive
Language / What The Child Understands
- Understands a few single words in very familiar
contexts (child shows understanding by looking at the same object as
mother, playing with the object, and copying mother's action) 8-12
months
Social/Play
- Looks at object, then at the partner
(gaze shifts)
- Begins to searches for items that were just
moved out of sight (object permanence beginning)
Receptive Language / What The Child Understands
- Understands a few single words in very familiar
situations
(child shows understanding by looking at the same object as mother, playing
with the object, and copying mother's action) 8-12 months
Receptive
Language / What The Child Understands
- Understands single words outside of routine
situation, but still requires a few things to be familiar/context
(child shows comprehension by looking at the object, showing you in
some way that they noticed, might look back, and then does what you
usually do with that object) 12-18 months
Social/Play
- Knows objects exist even when not in sight,
will search for them (object permanence complete)
- Semi-appropriate toy use (uses object correctly
but in a fleeting way, oject doesn't have to be positioned right)
Example: Touches
comb to hair but the teeth are facing up
Receptive
Language / What The Child Understands
- Understands single words outside of routine
situation, but
still requires a few things to be familiar/context
(child shows comprehension by looking at the object, showing you in some way that
they noticed, might look back, and then does what you usually do with
that object) 12-18 months
Social/Play
- Nesting (places or stuffs random objects into a container)
Example: Puts all
cars into a cowboy hat.
Receptive
Language / What The Child Understands
- Follows familiar 1-step directions without
gestures
- Understands names of familiar objects without
context
Emergent
Literacy Skills
- Looks at and listens to simple board books
- Shows appreciation of books
Social/Play
- Plays alone and talks to self
- Explores toys but
no longer mouths them
- Makes a choice when
offered 2 toys
- Episodes when they show different emotions
(happy, mad, sad, fear)
- Requests objects or actions
- Child tries to get adult's attention on what they are interested in
- Greeting and waving goodbye
- Calling for someone or something
- Showing off
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