Sound Beginnings is a private, in-home speech therapy practice specializing in the evaluation and treatment of children ages 12 months to 12+ years in Midlothian/Chesterfield, VA and nearby surrounding counties.
Developmental Milestones
BIRTH TO 3 MONTHS
Startles and reacts to loud sounds
Turns head toward sounds
Calms down or smiles when spoken to
Seems to recognize your voice and quiets if crying
Can briefly calm him or herself (may bring hands to mouth & suck on hand)
Begins to coo and make pleasure sounds
Cries differently for different needs
Begins to smile at people
Pays attention to faces
Begins to follow things with eyes
4-6 MONTHS
Watches faces closely
Likes to play with people and might cry when playing stops
Follows sounds with his or her eyes
Responds to changes in the tone of your voice
Notices toys that make sounds
Pays attention to music
Responds to own name
Responds to sounds by making sounds
Makes speech-like babbling sounds like, pa, ba, & mi
Giggles & laughs
Makes sounds when happy or upset
Coos & babbles when playing alone or with you
Recognizes familiar people & things at a distance
Likes to look at self in the mirror
Uses hands & eyes together such as, seeing a toy & reaching for it
Follows moving things with eyes from side to side
Brings things to mouth
Begins to pass things from one hand to the other
7 MONTHS - 1 YEAR
Enjoys playing peek-a-boo & pat-a-cake
Has favorite toys
Turns and looks in the direction of sounds
May be afraid of strangers
Looks when you point
Listens to songs & stories for a short time
Understands words for common items & people such as, “cup,” “shoe,”, “juice”, & "daddy"
Responds to simple requests such as, "come here"
Babbles using long strings of sounds (“tata, upup, bibibi”)
Uses sounds & gestures to get and keep attention
Copies sounds & gestures of others
Uses simple gestures such as, shaking head for "no" & waving "bye bye"
Points to objects & shows them to others
Has one or two words such as, “hi,” “dog,” “dada,” or “mama” by first birthday
Looks for things he/she sees you hide
Explores things in different ways like, shaking, banging. & throwing
Puts things in his/her mouth
ONE TO TWO YEARS
Likes to hand things to others as play
Shows affection to familiar people
May cling to caregivers in new situations
Gets excited when with other children
Plays simple pretend with toys such as, feeding a doll
Shows more and more independence
Follows simple commands such as, “roll the ball” or "kiss the baby"
Understands simple questions like, "who's that?" or “where’s your shoe?”
Knows a few parts of the body & can point to them when asked
Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes for longer periods
Points to things or pictures when they are named
Points to show others something interesting
Acquires new words on a regular basis
Uses p, b, m, h, & w sounds in words
Uses some one- or two-word questions such as, “where kitty?” or “what's that?”
Puts two words together such as, “more cookie” & "mommy book"
Scribbles on own
Begins to sort shapes & colors
TWO TO THREE YEARS
Takes turns in games
Copies adults & friends
Understands new words quickly
Understands the idea of "mine" & "his" or "hers"
Follows 2-part directions like, "get the spoon & put it on the table"
Understands opposite words such as, "go-stop", "big-little", & "up-down"
Has a word for almost everything
Uses two- or three-word phrases to talk about and ask for things
Uses words like, "in", "on" & "under"
Uses k, g, f, t, d, & n sounds in words
Speaks in a way that is understood by family members and friends
Asks "why" questions
Says first name, age, & sex
Completes simple puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces
Understands what "two" means
Copies a circle with pencil or crayon
THREE TO FOUR YEARS
Is more & more creative with make-believe play
Would rather play with other children than by him or herself
Hears you when you call from another room
Answers simple “who” “what” & “where” questions
Understands words for some colors & shapes
Understands the concepts of "same" & "different"
Can say first & last name
Uses pronouns such as, "I", "you", "me", "we", & "they"
Uses some plural words such as, "toys", "birds", & "buses"
Talks about what happened during the day. Uses about 4 sentences at a time
Asks "when" & "how" questions
Talks about what he/she likes & what interested in
Uses sentences with four or more words
Knows some basic rules of grammar such as, correctly using "he" & "she"
Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time
Starts to copy some capital letters
four to five years
Likes to sing, dance, & act
Can tell what is real & what is make-believe
Is sometimes demanding & sometimes very cooperative
Wants to please friends
Understands words for order such as, "first", "next", & "last"
Tells you what he/she thinks is going to happen next in a book
Understands words for time such as, "yesterday", "today", & "tomorrow"
Hears and understands most of what is said at home and in school
Says name & address
Names letters & numbers
Uses sentences that give many details
Tells a short story
Says all speech sounds in words. May make mistakes on sounds that are harder to say like, l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh,& th
Speaks easily without repeating sounds or words most of the time
Uses rhyming words
Can print some letters or numbers
Can draw a person with at least 6 body parts
Counts 10 or more things
SOURCES:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association & U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
TRACK YOUR CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT:
EVERY CHILD DEVELOPS AT THEIR OWN PACE
You know your child best, and your questions matter. If you have concerns about your child's speech and language development, Sound Beginnings is here to help you explore your child's communication needs and determine whether an evaluation may be helpful.