The national governing body of speech-language pathologists, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), recently released an updated checklist of skills for children from birth to 5 years. This checklist includes milestones on various aspects of development (language, speech production, feeding and swallowing). A milestone is defined as “an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development.” In other words, a milestone is the age at which a particular skill should be acquired and mastered by a child. We wanted to combine this helpful information into blog posts with examples to make it easy for all to understand!
By age 1, a child should be able to:
Receptive Language Skills (the comprehension of language):
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Respond to simple words and phrases like “Go bye-bye” and “Look at Mommy.”
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Reach for objects
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Example: reaching for a Teddy Bear they would like to hold.
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Look at you when you call their name.
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Stop for a moment when you say, “No.”
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Example: They may be reaching for your coffee. You say, “no!” and the child should stop- for just a moment!
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Recognize the names of some people and objects.
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Think family names, pet’s names, their favorite foods, familiar toys or characters they love.
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Expressive Language Skills (ability to communicate wants, needs, thoughts and feelings):
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Point, wave, and show or give objects.
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Say one or two words—like mama, dada, hi, and bye.
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Push away unwanted objects.
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Example: You present them peas on their highchair tray. They push away the peas, to indicate that they want something else.
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Speech Production Skills (Sound Production):
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Try to copy sounds that you make.
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Vocalize during play
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Example: these can be single sounds, such as “ahhh!”, or a combination of sounds!
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Social-Pragmatic Language Skills (Social-Skills):
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Imitate and initiate gestures for engaging in social interactions and playing games.
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Example: blowing kisses or playing peek-a-boo.
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Respond to facial expressions.
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React to toys that make sounds.
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Example: You activate a toy by pushing a button and it makes a sound. The child looks or moves toward the toy!
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Feeding Skills:
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Hold a bottle or cup with both hands.
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Hold a spoon during the meal and demonstrate self feeding with their fingers.
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Begin chewing food on both sides of mouth (called “rotary chewing”)
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Take a small bite from a larger piece of food
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Example: Taking a bite off of a halved banana
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Close lips during swallowing
If you have concerns in any of the areas above, it is time to contact a speech-language pathologist and set up a consultation! We offer free phone consultations to discuss your questions and concerns further.
Be sure to check back for our next post all about 2 year olds!
For more information on the milestones check out:
https://www.owlstherapy.com/new-blog/milestones-vs-averages
https://www.asha.org/public/developmental-milestones/communication-milestones/
As always, if you need to consult the experts…don’t wait…evaluate!
Contact us!