As a parent, watching your baby grow and develop is incredibly rewarding. From their first smiles to their initial babbles, each milestone marks an important step in their journey of learning and communication. Tracking your child’s hearing and communicative skills is crucial for their overall development and future learning.
This checklist, based on guidelines from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), helps you monitor your baby’s progress with communicating. By noting these developmental markers, you can identify potential concerns early and support your child’s growth effectively. Let’s explore the key milestones to watch for at each stage of your child’s early years from birth to age 1.
Birth to 3 Months (Yes/ No?)
- Reacts to loud sounds. Does your baby startle or jump at sudden noises?
- Calms down or smiles when spoken to. Notice if your voice soothes them or brings a smile.
- Recognize your voice and calm down if crying. Does your baby become less fussy when they hear you?
- When feeding, starts or stops sucking in response to sound. Observe changes in their feeding rhythm when there’s noise.
- Coos and makes pleasure sounds: Listen for those adorable coos and happy noises.
- Has a special way of crying for different needs: Different cries for hunger, discomfort, or tiredness?
- Smiles when he or she sees you: Look for those first heartwarming smiles of recognition.
4 to 6 Months (Yes/ No?)
- Follows sounds with his or her eyes: Does your baby track sounds around the room?
- Responds to changes in the tone of your voice: Notice their reaction to your varied vocal tones.
- Notices toys that make sounds: Do sound-making toys grab their attention?
- Pays attention to music: See if your baby is drawn to or calmed by music.
- Babbles in a speech-like way and uses many different sounds, including sounds that begin with p, b, and m: Listen for babbling with diverse sounds.
- Babbles when excited or unhappy: Does your baby babble in various emotional states?
- Makes gurgling sounds when alone or playing with you: Listen for those playful gurgles.
7 Months to 1 Year (Yes/ No?)
- Enjoys playing peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake: Does your baby engage in interactive games?
- Turns and looks in the direction of sounds: Observe if they turn their head towards sounds.
- Listens when spoken to: Does your baby pay attention when you talk?
- Understands words for common items such as “cup,” “shoe,” or “juice”: Recognize if they understand words for common items.
- Respond to requests like “Come here”: Does your baby follow simple requests?
- Babbles to get and keep attention: Does your baby use babbling to communicate?
- Communicates using gestures such as waving or holding up arms: Notice if they use gestures to express themselves.
- Imitates different speech sounds: Does your baby try to mimic the sounds they hear?
- Has one or two words like “Bye,” “Cat,” “Dada,” or “Mama” by their first birthday: Are they starting to say a few words?
By answering these early milestones, you can ensure your child is on the right path to developing strong communication skills. Remember, early detection and intervention are key to supporting your child’s growth.
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Developmental milestones handouts. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/public/developmental-milestones/handouts/
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-EMILY SMITH, Illinois State University, Senior Research and Marketing Intern
-NICOLE BUTLER, M.A., CCC-SLP/L (ASHA Certified and licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, Founder and Executive Director of Speech Within Reach.)
SPEECH WITHIN REACH provides in person and virtual telehealth speech therapy for children and adults. We are happy to support your speech therapy needs. Please feel free to reach out to us.