Communication

Ashley Hausmann, Erica Noel,

Sarah Stratton
 What is Communication
• “Communication is a process by which information is exchanged
between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs,
or behaviors” (“Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary,” 1993).

• When babies are first born, they are able to create and comprehend
many different sounds they may hear in their natural environments.
From their first birthday to becoming preschoolers, children begin
to use language with more purpose. The babbling and cooing that
they make are the basic structure for creating sentences as they
develop more advanced language. They start using simple words to
express their wants and needs (Morin, 2014-2017).
Receptive and Expressive Communication

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhHWd99IHVE
Communication includes:
• Comprehension
• Gestures
• Vocalizations
• Words and phrases
• Facial expressions
Major Milestones in Communication
Birth – Three Months
•Reacts to sounds (ex. Startles when they hear a loud noise or turns
to the sound of their parent’s voice)
•Differentiated cries
•Smile and coos
•Uses vowel sounds such as: “e” and “a”
•Listens to the voices around them and responds
•Typically quiets when picked up or comforted.

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)
Major Milestones in Communication
Three Months – Six Months
•Begins to imitate simple gestures
•Smiles and laughs
•Cries when upset and looks for comfort
•Likes to look at familiar people
•Repeats syllables such as “da-da-da”
•Uses vowel sounds “o” and “u”

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2WcUVRm334
Major Milestones in Communication
Six Months – Eleven Months
•Babbles with a lot of different sounds
•Begins to combine two syllables such as “ba-da”
•Starts to understand some words
•Waves bye-bye
•Plays peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
•Reacts to different tones of voice
•Responds to their own name
•Pats their reflection in mirror
•Shouts or vocalizes to get attention
•Babbling starts to sound like “real speech”
•May say “mama” or “dada” with meaning

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANZpdJyiIEs
Major Milestone in Communication
Twelve – Eighteen Months
•Starts to understand “no”
•Says 5-10 words
•Begins to point to familiar objects when they’re named
•Expresses wants with gestures
•Points to show you something
•Mixes babbling with real words
•Begins pointing to a few body parts
•Begins saying “MINE”
•Understands simple directions
•Imitates familiar words

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)
Major Milestones in Communication
Eighteen – Twenty-Four Months
•Points to 2-3 pictures when asked
•Names familiar objects on request
•Begins to use their own name
•Uses 10-20 different words
•Begins to combine two words (ex: “Mommy go.” “Daddy home.”)
•Uses words to express wants (ex: “Up,” “Milk,” “More”)
•Points to more body parts
•Can follow one step directions
(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)
(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)
Major Milestones in Communication
Twenty-Four Months – Three years
•Starts to use plurals and past tense
•Starts to ask ‘wh-’ questions
•Starts to use 2-3 word sentences
•Responds to choices
•Will ask for drinks or snacks
•Has about 200 words at 2 years and 450 words at 3 years
•Understands simple questions and commands

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE0WFhp4MHA
Major Milestones in Communication
Three Years – Four Years
•Can carry on a conversation
•Uses 4 word sentences
•Enjoys books, songs, stories, and nursery rhymes
•Most of what they say is able to be understood
•Asks LOTS of questions
•Uses proper grammar most of the time
•Uses pronouns (Ex: “I,” “You,” and “Me.”)
•Knows some prepositions (Ex: in, on, and under)
•Follows 3 step directions
•Repeats many words and phrases
•Has a vocabulary of 900 words or more

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaoHuVNcbfY

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)
Major Milestones in Communication
Four Years – Six Years
•Vocabulary of 4,000-6,000 words
•Continues to learn lots of new words quickly
•Uses 4-6 word sentences
•Talks a lot about everything they are doing and thinking
•Tells stories about their own personal experiences
•Understands and uses “tomorrow” and “yesterday”
•Uses past, present, and future tenses
•Understands prepositions (Ex. Beside, behind, and in front)
•Says “excuse me” to interrupt conversations
•Begins to understand abstract concepts

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)
Atypical Development
• Many different aspects can affect communication.
• For example:
• Developmental disabilities
• Family history of language impairments and delays
• Cultural and sociocultural factors
• Being neglected
• Abused
• Chaotic family households
• Unstable and disorganized environment
• Numbers of words children hear that are used by parents
• Socio-Economic Status

(Howard, Williams, Miller, Aiken, 2014)

Atypical Development
Birth – Eleven Months
•Poor eye contact
•Few or limited facial expressions
•Little or no sharing or interest in playful interactions with a parent
•Doesn’t respond to their name
•Doesn’t use gestures
•Doesn’t turn to sounds
•Rarely comforted by their parent’s voice or touch
•Says a few sounds
•Doesn’t have a large variety of sounds
•Doesn’t copy sounds, facial expression, or simple actions
•Doesn’t let people they want something using gestures, sounds, pointing,
or eye contact.

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)

Atypical Development
Twelve – Eighteen Months
•Does not respond consistently to their name being called
•Doesn’t respond to familiar sounds (phone ringing)
•Doesn’t look at or point to objects/pictures when named
•Doesn’t show or give objects spontaneously
•Does not start a turn taking game (ex. Doesn’t lift up blanket for peek -a-
boo)
•Doesn’t direct others attention ( Doesn’t point, or have eye contact)
•Doesn’t use consonant + vowel combinations that others would recognize
(ma, pa, da)
•Has fewer than 10 words

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)

Atypical Development
Eighteen – Twenty-Four Months
•Does not understand verbal instructions without needing gestures
•Does not copy or imitate words frequently
•Does not sit for 5 minutes of book reading
•Does not add gestures if their words are not understood
•Says less than 20-50 words
•Does not say a few 2- word or 3-word combinations

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)

Atypical Development
Twenty-Four Months – Three Years
•Does not understand more complex sentences (when…then)
•Frequently ‘echoes’ words
•Does not use at least 100 words
•Language development seems “stuck”
•Not interested in talking or playing with adults or other children
•Does not show any pretend play skill (Such as feeding a doll)
•Not putting words into a 2-3 word sentence
•Not matching colors or pictures
•Cannot give their name when asked
•Not using ‘No’ to reject something or protest
(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkin5up15XM
Atypical Development
Three – Four Years
•Little interest in talking to adults or children
•Sentences are not growing in length or complexity
•Poor sorting or matching skills
•Difficulty answering questions (What, what-doing, where)
•Not asking who, what, or where, questions
•Not easily understood by family members or familiar people in their
life.

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)

Atypical Development
Four – Six Years
•Not easily understood by others
•Difficulty putting sentences together
•Lots of grammatical difficulties in their sentences
•Difficulties with concepts such as prepositions, colors, size, and
categories
•Doesn’t ask questions
•Doesn’t follow verbal directions
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ93HTeKc98&index=7&list=PLr
sGjpL9Wv-myBt_8KjvTJHjndlQRnR1n

(Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre, 2011)

 References
• Baby Got Laughs. (2017, February 26). Baby girl plays peek-a-boo with her dog: So
cute!. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ANZpdJyiIEs
• Child Development Programs. (2016, April 7). Expressive and receptive language [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhHWd99IHVE
• Children’s Therapy & Family Resource Centre. (2011). Developmental milestones.
Retrieved from https://www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org
• Deferrer83. (2015, July 9). 3 1/2 month old baby says I love you! Clearly ! [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2WcUVRm334
• Howard, V. F., Williams, B.F., Miller, D., & Aiken, E. (2014). Very young children with
special needs: A foundation for educators, families, and service providers (5th
Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
• Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed.) . (1993) . Springfield, MA: Merriam-
Webster
• Morin, A. (2014-2017). Understood for learning and attention issues. Retrieved from
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-symptoms/
developmental-milestones/skill-development-from-birth-to-age-5
• My family, (2015, April 16). No eye contact- What early stages of Autism can look like [Video
File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkin5up15XM
• Niamh Hughes. (2015, April 3). Whyy? Curious toddler. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE0WFhp4MHA
• Palonen, E. (2016, January 17). Big vocabulary, little context: The art of being 3 [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaoHuVNcbfY
• Wonkido. (2012, June 6). Subtle signs of autism 0-7 years old [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ93HTeKc98&index=7&list=PL
rsGjpL9Wv-myBt_8KjvTJHjndlQRnR1n