Typical Language Development

So here's a summary of the information we picked up on typical language development.

10-12 Months:
- The child says his/her first word. The child's first words may not sound perfect or may not be used correctly. For example, the child may use "dog" to refer to any four-legged animal. With practice, this production will become clearer and will be used appropriately.

- The child follows simple commands. For example, the child responds appropriately to "Put that down", "Come to Mommy", and "Give it to Daddy"

- The child seems to understand simple questions. The child may respond to questions such as: "Where's the ball?" and "What is that?"

- The child gestures and/or vocalizes to indicate wants and needs. For example, he/she may ask for very common objects such as a ball by name and/or may gesture toward the object.

- The child starts speech gesture games. For example, the child tries to involve the caregiver in "peek -a-boo" or "patty-cake".

1 1/2 Years:
- The child uses up to 20 words.

- The child uses connected sounds (i.e., jargon) that sound like sentences in a foreign language. Jargon is often accompanied by gestures. The child will often point to objects and make up names for them.

- The child recognizes the names of 1 to 3 body parts.

- The child begins to understand such categories as food, animals, and clothing.

- The child uses common expressions. The child may say "What's that?", "All gone" or "Oh no."

2 Years:
- The child uses 2-word sentences. For example, the child may use: agent + object (e.g., "Mommy sock"), agent + action (e.g., "Tommy go"). At this stage, a child expresses meaning through the tone of his/her voice and the ordering of words in his/her sentences. The child may use word combinations that adults do not use (e.g., "allgone juice", "more up", "no down").

- The child has a vocabulary of approximately 50 words.

- The child follows 2-step commands that are accompanied by gestures. For example, the child understands the request: "Pick up your toys and put them in the toy box" as Mom points to the toys and toy box.

- The child uses such pronouns as "me", "mine", "my", and "you". These pronouns are not always used appropriately.

- The child uses negative forms such as "not" and "no" in combination with another word. For example, the child may say: "No shoe" when he/she expects his/her shoes to be in a place where they are not; "Not go" when he/she does not want to leave.

2 1/2 Years:
- The child understands such prepositions as "in", "on", and "under". For example, when the caregiver says: "The ball in under the couch", the child will go to get the ball from the appropriate place.

- The child produces 2- to 3-word sentences. For example, the child may say: "Daddy go car", "Bruno drink juice", or "Me hit ball".

- The child understands the concepts of "one" and "all".

- The child uses approximately 150 to 500 words.

- The child recites rhymes and songs. The child may recite or sing rhymes or songs such as "Twinkly, Twinkle Little Star", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm".

Keep in mind that this is just average; some kids will start earlier and some later.

:Duan