Typical Development of Communication

Age Communication Characteristics/Milestones

1 mo. Child prefers to look at human face, recognizes sounds and turns head toward
familiar sounds.

2 mo. Child begins to smile at people and begins to coo

3 mo. Child begins to babble, imitate sounds and facial expressions, social smile is
developed.

4 mo. Child cries with intent to show pain, fatigue and hunger. Child babbles with
expression.

6 mo. Child makes sounds in response to other sounds, vowels are grouped together
during babbling, consonant sounds are added to babble, turn taking vocal play,
responds to their own name.

7 mo. Child begins to respond to the word “no”, can differentiate between emotions
from the tone of voice, more consonants are added to babble.

9 mo. Child imitates sounds and gestures of others, use fingers to point at objects.

12 mo. Child says 2-3 words other than “mama” & “dada”, imitates common/familiar
words, understands simple directions. Child understands that words represent
objects.

18 mo. Child says single words, uses language to request, label and engage others.
Child shakes head while saying “no”, links simple words together to form
rudimentary phrases “Want ball, all gone”.

2 yrs. Child has about 50 words in vocabulary, can name common objects, uses “I”
and “mine” appropriately. Child asks simple questions, uses 2-3 word
utterances, new words are gained at rapid pace.

3-4 yrs. Child has about 1,000 words in vocabulary, can answer and ask questions to
inquire new experiences and get goals met. Child identifies and uses rhyming
words, uses 4 sentences at a time to narrate experiences.

4-5 yrs. Child is able to tell a short narrative, can adjust to conversational style based
on time and communication partner. Child demonstrates academic abilities
within language.

5-6 yrs. Child sentences grow in complexity, uses imaginative language within pretend
play. Child is able to describe several attributes about an object, talks about
past and future events. Child uses pronouns, adverbs, irregular plurals and
irregular past tense.
Professional Resources:
● Typical Speech and Language Acquisition in Infants and Young Children
https://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article
&id=35:admin&catid=2:uncategorised&Itemid=117​-
● How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?
https://www.asha.org/slp/schools/prof-consult/norms/
● Developmental Milestones- Help Me Grow
http://helpmegrowmn.org/HMG/DevelopMilestone/index.html

Parent-Friendly Resources:
● Stages of Language Development Checklist: Language Milestone for 0-8 years old
https://childdevelopment.com.au/resources/child-development-charts/stages-of-language
-development-checklist/
● U.S. Department of Education: Early Learning. Free and Parent Friendly Resources for
Families.
https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/earlylearning/inclusion/resources-for-families.html
● Child Development Institute: Language Development in Children.
https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/language_development/#.W835Qth
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