Birth to Six Months

Hearing and Understanding

Startles at loud sounds.

Quiets or smiles when you talk.

Seems to recognize your voice.

Moves his/her eyes in the direction of sounds.

Responds to changes in your tone of voice.

Notices toys that make sounds.

Pays attention to music.

Talking

Makes cooing sounds.

Cries change for different needs.

Smiles at people.

Coos and babbles when playing alone or with you.

Makes speech-like babbling sounds, like _pa_, _ba_, and _mi_.

Giggles and laughs.

Makes sounds when happy or upset.

Seven Months to One Year

Hearing and Understanding

Turns and looks in the direction of sounds.

Looks when you point.

Turns when you call his/her name.

Understands words for common items and people-words like _cup_, _truck_, _juice_, and _daddy_.

Starts to respond to simple words and phrases, like, "No," "Come here," and "Want more?"

Plays games with you, like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake.

Listens to songs and stories for a short time.

Talking

Babbles long strings of sounds, like _mimi upup babababa_

Uses sounds and gestures to get and keep attention.

Points to objects and shows them to others.

Uses gestures like waving bye, reaching for "up," and shaking his/her head no.

Imitates different speech sounds.

Says 1 or 2 words, like _hi, dog, dada, mama, or uh-oh_. This will happen around his/her first birthday, but sounds may not be clear.

1-2 Years

Hearing and Understanding

Points to a few body parts when you ask.

Follows 1-part directions, like "Roll the ball".

Responds to simple questions like "Who's that?"

Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes.

Points to pictures in a book when you name them.

Talking

Uses a lot of new words.

Uses p, b, m, h, and w in words.

Starts to name pictures in books.

Asks questions, like "What's that?"

Puts 2 words together, like "more apple," no bed," and "mommy book."

2-3 Years

Hearing and Understanding

Understands opposites, like go-stop, big-little, and up-down.

Follows 2-part directions, like "Get the spoon and put it on the table."

Understands new words quickly.

Talking

Has a word for almost everything.

Talks about htings that are not in the room.

Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n in words.

Uses words like in, on, and under.

Uses two-or three-words to talk about and ask for things.

People who know your child can understand him/her.

Asks "Why?"

Puts 3 words together to talk about things. May Repeat some words and sounds.

3-4 Years

Hearing and Understanding

Responds when you call from another room.

Understands words for some colors, like red, blue, and green.

Understands words for some shapes, like circle and square.

Understands words for family, like brother, grandmother, and aunt.

Talking

Answers simple who, what, and where questions.

Says rhyming words, like hat–cat.

Uses pronouns, like I, you, me, we, and they.

Uses some plural words, like toys, birds, and buses.

Most people understand what your child says.

Asks when and how questions.

Puts 4 words together. May make some mistakes, like “I goed to school.”

Talks about what happened during the day. Uses about 4 sentences at a time.

4-5 Years

Hearing and Understanding

Understands words for order, like first, next, and last.

Understands words for time, like yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Follows longer directions, like “Put your pajamas on, brush your teeth, and then pick out a book.”

Follows classroom directions, like “Draw a circle on your paper around something you eat.”

Hears and understands most of what she hears at home and in school.

Talking

Says all speech sounds in words. May make mistakes on sounds that are harder to say, like l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, and th.

Responds to “What did you say?”

Talks without repeating sounds or words most of the time.

Names letters and numbers.

Uses sentences that have more than 1 action word, like jump, play, and get. May make some mistakes, like “Zach gots 2 video games, but I got one.”

Tells a short story.

Keeps a conversation going.

Talks in different ways, depending on the listener and place. Your child may use short sentences with younger children. He may talk louder outside than inside.

Early reading and writing skills include:

8 months–1 year: Likes to hear you talk and read; looks at pictures in books when you read

1–2 years: Makes sounds or words when looking at pictures in books; points or touches pictures in books when you name them; turns pages in books

2–3 years: Knows that books have a front and back; enjoys books that have rhymes; points to and names many pictures in books

Some Signs of a Language Disorder

Does not smile or interact with others (birth and older)

Does not babble (4-7 months)

Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like pointing (7-12 months)

Does not understand what others say (7 months-2 years)

Says only a few words (12-18 months)

Words are not easily understood (18 months-2 years)

Does not put words together to make sentences (1.5-3 years)

Has trouble playing and talking with other children (2-3 years)

Has trouble with early reading and writing skills* (2.5-3 years)

Some Signs of a Speech Sound Disorder

Says p, b, m, h, and w incorrectly in words (1-2 years)

Says k, g, f, t, d, and n incorrectly in words (2-3 years)

Produces speech that is unclear, even to familiar people (2-3 years)

Some Signs of Stuttering (Disfluency)

Repeats first sounds of words—“b-b-b-ball” for “ball”

Speech breaks while trying to say a word—“—–boy” for “boy”

Stretches sounds out—“ffffff-farm” for “farm”

Shows frustration when trying to get words out

Some Signs of a Voice Disorder

Loss of voice

Uses a hoarse or breathy voice

Speaks with strain and effort

Source

[Identify the Signs][1]

[1]: https://identifythesigns.org/signs-of-speech-and-language-disorders/

Get your child's hearing checked at his/her pediatrician.

Contact us and request a speech-language evaluation. SLPs help people who have problems with speech, language, and thinking skills. SLPs also work with people who have trouble feeding and swallowing. They can test and suggest ways to help your child.

Birth to 3 Months

Arm movement is mostly random (non-goal directed) and asymmetrical

Hands are fisted

Grasping reflex when placing a finger or object in hand

Brings hands to mouth

Watches the movements of his/her hands

3-6 Months

Movements are mainly purposeful and more symmetrical

Reaches for toys with both hands

Hands are primarily open with thumbs out

Holds toys with palm and fingers but not thumb

Brings hands to midline

No longer stares at his/her hands

Looks at objects a few feet away

6-9 Months

Transfers objects hand to hand

Straightens elbows when reaching

Rakes pellet-sized items with fingers

Holds items with fingers and thumb

Claps hands

9-12 Months

Points with index finger

Uses a neat, tip to tip pincer grasp on small pellet-sized items

Places items into an open container or into adult’s hand

12-18 Months

Stacks two to three small blocks

Holds crayon in closed fist (power grasp)

Scribbles with a crayon using whole arm movements

Turns pages in a cardboard book (more than one at a time)

Holds object with one hand and manipulates it with the other

Places small items in a closed-neck bottle

Places one to two shapes in a three-shape geometric puzzle

Places large pegs in a pegboard

18-24 Months

Stacks three to five blocks

Snips paper with scissors

Strings two to three beads

Imitates vertical and circular scribbles

Turns pages of a book one at a time

Places three shapes in a three shape geometric puzzle

2-3 Years

Imitates simple horizontal and vertical block designs

Imitates a circle and vertical and horizontal lines

Unscrews screw-top lid

Begins manipulating small items within the hand

Cuts paper into two pieces

Holds crayon with fingers, not fist (pronated grasp)

May use one hand consistently in most activities

3-4 Years

Stacks five to seven small blocks

Imitates circle and cross

Manipulates clay and dough (pinches, rolls balls, snakes)

4-5 Years

Copies a square and cross

Cuts on a straight line

Begins to use thumb and index finger to hold pencil/crayon (tripod grasp)

Touches each finger to thumb

Buttons and unbuttons one button

Stacks 10 plus small blocks

5-6 Years

Colors inside the lines

Cuts out simple shapes

Copies triangle

Writes first name

Handedness well established

Mature, adult grasp of pencil well established (dynamic tripod)

7-8 Years

By 7 to 8 years of age, children generally are proficient with most fine motor skills. As with many skills, practice improves performance; therefore, refinement of already acquired fine motor skills can continue into adulthood.

Information provided by Tara Calder, OTR/L with Super Duper Handy Handouts!

Occupational therapy treats difficulty with self-care, fine-motor, and visual perception skills. Difficulty in the following areas may indicate a need for an occupational therapy evaluation and/or treatment:

Functionally moving, sitting, crawling, or walking independently.

Paying attention and following directions.

Bathing, dressing, eating, drinking, and toileting independently

Manipulating toys and puzzles

Holding a pencil and poor handwriting, letter/number formation

Using zippers, buttons, shoelaces

Coloring, drawing, tracing, prewriting shapes

Poor ball skills

Poor balance

Overly sensitive or heightened reactivity to sound, touch, or movement

Under-responsive to certain sensations (e.g., high pain tolerance, doesn't notice cuts/bruises)

Constantly moving, jumping, crashing, bumping

Easily distracted by visual or auditory stimuli

Inability to calm self when upset

Difficulty managing school demands

Decreased independence with higher level cognitive tasks, (e.g.,money management, organizing and completing long-term projects).

Request a referral from your pediatrician for an occupational therapy evaluation.

Contact Puzzle Piece to schedule an evaluation appointment.

Red Flags for Dyslexia: Preschool

Difficulty with rhyming and hearing beginning sounds in words

Trouble naming letters

Red Flags Grades K-1st

Trouble with phonemic awareness tasks (taking apart and putting together speech sounds in words)

Trouble learning and applying phonics (sounds of letters)

Difficulty remembering high frequency “sight” words

Poor spelling

Poor handwriting

Source: International Dyslexia Association