Speech Development in the Early Ages

It's important for every parents to know the norm of speech development in infants. No infant will develop their speech-language skills at the same rate. It all depends on environmental and genetic factors. So, as it is important to know if your little one is on the right track when it comes to the earliest of speech and language development, use this post only as a guideline. And remember, you're their first and most important vocal teachers. These developments may naturally occur, or you may want to impress them by practicing speech with them as a daily routine.

Ages 1-6 months old...
At this point in an infant's life, he/she will only be able to communicate through gestures or crying. During these months, a child begins to understand receptive language (can perceive certain, simple language) and by the end of it should be able to learn and pronounce phonemes (the smallest parts of speech).

Crying is a way for infants to express what they may want or need. They may use varying pitches to distinguish their want/need. This is where motherly instincts kick in, I suppose. It might take a while, but eventually I think a lot of mothers acquire a feel for what their child needs by the way they cry.

Gesturing is another way for infants to express their wants and needs, non-verbally. An infant may throw up his/her arms, turn their head, smile, shake their hands to express excitement, etc. This is usually too cute to handle.

You should see your infant begin to understand receptive language during this period. A child should become familiar with the human voice, and understand how tone or pitch might be distinct with mood or emotion. An infant should be able to tell if someone is angry by the sound of their voice. So, if you feel the need to holler, try not to do it around them, even if they do it around you a decent amount.

During this stage, phoneme development begins. This usually occurs late in this stage. First, an infant might learn to make vowel sounds. You may begin to hear consonant sounds produced from the back of the mouth, such as "k" or "g". You might also begin to hear your infant combine vowel and consonant sounds.

Ages 7-12 months old...
There's a lot of development taking place during this stage. A baby's gestures become more meaningful, babbling increases, so does imitation. Crying is still a primary means of expressing needs, but at this age crying is usually coupled with a particular gesture (crying and throwing hands up and down, smiling and giggling).

Babbling becomes meaningful. Children will start to make sounds that seem like words and attach them to physical objects. It might make you laugh and wonder, but it's a step in the right direction.

Receptive language continues to develop, and strong. Children will attach sounds and gestures to objects. They'll rely heavily on tone or pitch of voice to understand cues and what people are trying to say to them. The child should start to understand his/her name and respond to it.

Phonemic development increases during this stage as well. You'll begin to hear your infant make more consonants, some that are produced with the front of the mouth (like "b" "p" "m" and "w") combined with vowel sounds. Children will also "vocal play", combining consonants and vowels in repetitive nature (Spielvogle, 1).

Ages 13-36 months
This is where speech and language development starts to rapidly grow. Their babbles become meaningful words, their phonemes continue to develop, and their receptive language development grows strong.

Babbling is mixed with meaningful words that the child is just beginning to learn. He/she may speak something, but include jargon. Not to worry. By the end of this stage, a child's vocabulary should expand by up to 200 words. They'll be able to pair few words together to construct meaningful phrases.

Receptive language continues to develop rapidly. In the beginning of this stage, a child should be able to attach common words to common objects when asked to. During this stage an infant's receptive language develops rapidly, but their expressive language (verbalizing meaning) develops slowly until they reach the ages of 3 or 4.

Phonemic development continues to develop at a rapid pace. A lot of children have trouble developing the "r" sound, and can't help but use a "w" sound instead. It's pretty common, so don't let it frustrate you unless it lasts well into development.

So, though this is only a guideline, it's a great piece to refer to while impressing language development on an infant. It's can be one of the most tedious, yet wonderful jobs to have as a parent. It's teaching your child to express itself, and one day it will all pay off.