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):
Respond to simple words and phrases like “Go bye-bye” and “Look at Mommy.”
Reach for objects
Example: reaching for a Teddy Bear they would like to hold.
Look at you when you call their name.
Stop for a moment when you say, “No.”
Example: They may be reaching for your coffee. You say, “no!” and the child should stop- for just a moment!
Recognize the names of some people and objects.
Think family names, pet’s names, their favorite foods, familiar toys or characters they love.
Expressive Language Skills (ability to communicate wants, needs, thoughts and feelings):
Point, wave, and show or give objects.
Say one or two words—like mama, dada, hi, and bye.
Push away unwanted objects.
Example: You present them peas on their highchair tray. They push away the peas, to indicate that they want something else.
Speech Production Skills (Sound Production):
Try to copy sounds that you make.
Vocalize during play
Example: these can be single sounds, such as “ahhh!”, or a combination of sounds!
Social-Pragmatic Language Skills (Social-Skills):
Imitate and initiate gestures for engaging in social interactions and playing games.
Example: blowing kisses or playing peek-a-boo.
Respond to facial expressions.
React to toys that make sounds.
Example: You activate a toy by pushing a button and it makes a sound. The child looks or moves toward the toy!
Feeding Skills:
Hold a bottle or cup with both hands.
Hold a spoon during the meal and demonstrate self feeding with their fingers.
Begin chewing food on both sides of mouth (called “rotary chewing")
Take a small bite from a larger piece of food
Example: Taking a bite off of a halved banana
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!