4 - 6 Months:
3 - 4 Years:
5 - 6 Years:
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Moves eyes in direction of sounds
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Responds to changes in tone of voice
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Babbling sounds more speech-like with many different sounds, including /p/, /b/, and /m/
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Laughs
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Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
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Enjoys games like peek-a-boo
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Turns and looks in direction of sounds
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Listens when spoken to
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Recognizes words for common items like “cup”, “book”, or “bottle”
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Begins to respond to requests
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Babbling has long and short groups of sounds
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Uses gesture to communicate (waving, holding arms to be picked up)
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Imitates different speech sounds
Has one or two words (e.g., "hi," "dada," "mama," "dog") around first birthday
Birth - 3 Months
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Points to a few body parts when asked
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Follows simple commands (“kiss the baby,” “roll the ball”)
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Points to pictures in a book when named
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Says more words every month
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Puts two words together (“mommy book,” “more milk”)
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Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words
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Understands words for some colors and shapes
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Talks about past events
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Uses about 4 sentences at a time when telling a story
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Nonfamily members understand child’s speech
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Answers simple “who,” “what,” and “where” questions
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Asks “when” and “how” questions
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Says rhyming words like “hat-cat”
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Uses pronouns like I, we, he, she, they
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Uses plural words
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Uses many sentences containing at least 4 words
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Understands words for order such as "first," "next", and "last"
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Understands words for time such as "today," "yesterday," and "tomorrow"
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Follows multi-step directions
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Names letters and numbers
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Tells a short story
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Maintains conversation
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Uses similar grammar to the rest of the family
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Quiets or smiles when spoken to
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Startles to loud sounds
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Makes pleasure sounds
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Cries differently for different needs
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Smiles when sees you