Developmental Milestones
Language & Feeding
Between birth-to-6 months old
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Sucks fingers near mouth
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Makes cooing sound
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Smiles at familiar people
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Recognizes voices
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Makes sounds when happy and upset
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Notices toys that make noise
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Begins to try and hold a bottle
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Transitions to puree on a spoon
Between 6-to-12 months old
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Begins self-feeding
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Drinks from a straw cup or open cup
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Responds to name
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Waves bye-bye
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Understands common words
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Plays games “Pee-a-boo”
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Uses gestures and sounds to gain attention
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Transitions to solid foods
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Points to objects
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Imitates sounds and words
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Uses 1-2 words “mama”
Between 1-to-2 years old
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Understands “no”, “come here”, and “sit down”
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Names familiar objects, uses single words frequently
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Asks to have some needs met, such as using “more”
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Gives a toy when asked
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Points to his or her toes, eyes, and nose
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Brings object from another room when asked
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Imitates new words and short phrases and uses new words spontaneously
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Spontaneously combines two words (between 18 and 24 months)
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Eats a variety of foods and chews food without choking or gagging
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Speech sounds 25-50% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener
Between 2-to-3 years old
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Follows two step commands, such as “pick up your socks and give them to me”
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Comprehends simple questions
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Carries on a “conversation” with self and dolls
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Frequently and spontaneously uses 2 word phrases (24 months)
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Uses 3 word phrases (24-27 months)
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Asks “what’s that?” and “Where’s my”
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Talks to other children as well as adults
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Solves problems by talking instead of hitting and crying
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Uses action words, uses negation and plurals, and uses basic prepositions
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Answers what, where and who questions by 3 years old
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Speech sounds 50-75% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener
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Produces the sounds: /b, m, n, ng, p, f, h, and w/
Between 3-to-4 years old
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Follows three-step directions
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Understands when, why, how questions
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Understands spatial concepts (first, last, middle)
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Understands temporal concepts (before and after)
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Understands more complex sentences
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Understands same and different
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Can tell a story
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Speaks in 4-5 word sentences in conversation
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Uses possessives, verb forms, quantity concepts (one, some, all)
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Speech sounds 75-100%% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener
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Produces the sounds: /k, g, d, t, ng, f, y/
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Produces the sounds: /r, l, s, ch, sh, z/ by 5 years of age
Other Concerns
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Difficulty making friends
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Academic concerns
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Difficulty with rhyming words, learning shapes, numbers, and colors
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Picky eater
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Mouth breather, drools, or messy eater
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Difficulty transitioning to solid foods
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Tongue thrust during swallow or speech
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Difficulty moving tongue, jaw, lips on command
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Tongue or lip tie
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Hoarse vocal quality
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Stuttering