MS

T H E M E D S P E E C H I E

A guide to early communication intervention:

EARLY
LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
Exploring the process in which children learn
to communicate using language during early
childhood (0 - 3 years old)

@ M E D S P E E C H I E
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
EARLY COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION:

EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

MS
T H E M E D S P E E C H I E

0-3 MONTHS
Child responds to loud sounds.
Child can recognize caregiver/parent’s voice.
Child starts vocalising (i.e. Cooing, crying for different
things, Grunting etc.).
Child smiles when spoken to.
Child makes use of vowel-similar sounds (e.g. “oooh”;
“aaahh”.)

@ M E D S P E E C H I E
 DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
MS
T H E M E D S P E E C H I E

EARLY COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION:

EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

3-6 MONTHS
Child notices and looks towards sound.
Child begins to focus on faces.
Child begins to use babbling sounds (e.g., bababa)
Child vocalises pleasure/displeasure.
Child can laugh.
Child begins to imitate sounds and gestures

@ M E D S P E E C H I E
 DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
MS
T H E M E D S P E E C H I E

EARLY COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION:

EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

6-12 MONTHS
Child understands 3 – 50 words
First word is produced. (e.g. Ma, Da.)
Varied Babbling (e.g. ‘bibibi’, ‘amam’).
Child begins to recognise commonly used words (e.g. cup,
no/yes).
Child begins to respond to requests (e.g. “Come here.”)
Child responds to their name.
Child uses sounds and gestures to get attention.
Child begins to imitate speech sounds.

@ M E D S P E E C H I E
 MS
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES T H E M E D S P E E C H I E

EARLY COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION:

EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

12-18 MONTHS
Rapid increase in vocabulary(daily increase)
Child can understand around 100 – 150 words.
Child uses variety of consonant sounds.
Child uses gestures for intentional communication (e.g.
shaking head to deny food, pointing to get attention).

@ M E D S P E E C H I E
 DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
MS
T H E M E D S P E E C H I E

EARLY COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION:

EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

18-24 MONTHS
Child can understand around 150 – 200 words.
Child can say 50 – 150 words.
Child can follow simple command (e.g. “Sit Down”)
Child can use some 1 – 2 word phrases and questions.
Child can identify pictures in books by pointing.
Child can point to parts of the body.
50 -70% of speech understood by others.

@ M E D S P E E C H I E
 MS
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES T H E M E D S P E E C H I E

EARLY COMMUNICATION INTERVENTION:

EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

24-36 MONTHS
Child can understand around 200–500 words.
Child can say 100 – 250 words.
Child makes use of 2-4-word phrases.
Child can listen to longer stories/narratives.
Child has the ability to repeat rhymes, songs, and stories
75% of speech is understood by others.

@ M E D S P E E C H I E