Communication Milestones 0-5

These are general communication milestones meant to help you gleam what to expect as your child grows and develops. Early developing skills are listed toward the top of each list and later developing skills toward the end. As a note, these language milestones are reported for Analytic Language Processors. Milestones for Gestalt Language Processors can be found on the resources page under "Gestalt Language Development."

Birth to One	Coos, makes sounds like "ooooo," "aahh," "mmmmm," alert to sounds (0-3 months). Blows “raspberries," responds to facial expressions, giggles and laughs (4-6 months). Babbles long strings of sounds like "mamama," "bababa" (7-9 months). Points/waves, says one to two words like mama, dada, hi, and bye (10-12 months).
One to Two	Follows simple directions like "Come here" and "Give me the bubbles." Points to make requests, shakes head for “no” and nods head for “yes." Uses and understands at least 50 words by age two. Begins to combine two words into phrases like more milk or want ball. Uses words like me, mine, and you.
Two to Three	Follows two-step directions like "Go to your room and get your coat." Uses word combinations often like more water or I want banana. Uses some plural words like toys or dogs. Uses -ing verbs like running or eating. Asks "why" and "how" questions. Answers simple "what" questions. Engages in simple, make-believe activities.
Three to Four	Expresses ideas and feelings. Takes turns and plays cooperatively. Understands and uses more location words, like inside, on, and under. Pretends to read alone or with others.
Four to Five	Follows three-step directions. Produces grammatically correct sentences. Sentences are longer and more complex. Understands and uses location words, like behind, beside, and between. Uses more words for time like yesterday and tomorrow. Follows simple directions and rules to play games.

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