0-3 Months
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Quiets or smiles when you talk
Seems to recognize familiar voices
Startles at loud sounds
Expressive Language (Talking)
Makes cooing sounds
Smiles at people
Has different cries for different needs
4-6 Months
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Reacts to sounds in the environment (noisy toys)
Responds to no, his/her name, and changes in the tone of your voice
Moves eyes in the direction of sounds
Expressive Language (Talking)
Coos and babbles when playing
Giggles and laughs
Makes speech-like babbling sounds (ba, mi, pa, da)
Makes sounds when happy or upset
7-12 Months
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Looks when you point to things
Understands simple words (truck, juice, mommy)
Starts to respond to simple commands (no, come here)
Engages in social games like peek-a-boo
Listens to songs and stories for a short time
Expressive Language (Talking)
Uses gestures (waves bye-bye, shakes head no)
Babbles long string of consonant vowel syllables (baba, mimi, dadada)
Imitates different speech sounds
Around 12 months, says 1-2 words (mama, uh-oh)
1-2 Years
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Understands “no”
Follows simple one-step commands (Kiss the baby)
Identifies familiar body parts by pointing
Points to pictures in a book when named
Identifies familiar real-life objects
Expressive Language (Talking)
Says first word (around 12 months)
Uses sounds p, b, m, h, w in words
Starts to name pictures in books
Uses 50-100 words by 18 months
Puts 2 words together (more juice, no car)
Makes the sounds of familiar animals
2-3 Years
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Follows two-step directions (Get the ball and bring it to me)
Understands pronouns me, my, your
Understands difference between big/little, stop/go, up/down
Understands the concept of “one” and “all”
Answers yes/no questions
Expressive Language (Talking)
Uses 200-300 words by 24 months
Uses sounds k, g, f, t, d, n in words
Uses prepositions (in, on, under)
Puts 3 words together
Asks simple “wh” questions (What’s that?)
Uses present progressive -ing, plural -s, possessive -s
3-4 Years
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Understands colors (red, blue, green)
Understands some shapes (circle, square)
Understands spatial concepts (next to, beside, between)
Answers wh questions (where, what’s that, what doing, who is)
Expressive Language (Talking)
Uses pronouns (I, you, me, we, they)
Uses articles (a, the), plurals and possessive -s (The girl’s hat)
Puts 4 words together and talks about what happened during the day
Has a vocabulary of nearly 1,000 words
4-5 Years
Receptive Language (Understanding)
Understands positional concepts (first, middle, last)
Understands spatial concepts (in back of, next to, in front of)
Understands comparative and superlative adjectives (e.g., big, bigger, biggest)
Understands pronouns he, she, they, his, her
Expressive Language (Talking)
Produces 4-5 word sentences
Tells a short story
Says all speech sounds in words, but may make mistakes on l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, th
Answers all wh questions, including how questions
Names letters and numbers
Do you have any questions about your child and if he/she is delayed? Feel free to reach out to me or your child's pediatrician. Keep in mind that every child develops at different rates and may develop certain skills slightly earlier or later than other children.