MILESTONES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO ASHA (AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE HEARING)

ASSOCIATION
Hearing and understanding Speaking

Nacimiento-3 meses Birth-3 months

• He/she startles at loud noises. • Growls.
• He is silent or smiles when spoken to. • Cries in different ways depending on its different
• It seems to recognize your voice and calm down if needs.
is crying. • You smile with others.

4-6 months 4-6 months

• Move your eyes in the direction of the sounds. • He babbles and murmurs when he plays alone with you.
• Pay attention to the toys that make sounds. • Babbling using sounds similar to speech, like pa,
• Pay attention to the music. give me.
• Respond to changes in tone of voice. • He laughs and guffaws.
• Makes sounds to express pleasure or disgust.

7 months - 1 year 7 months - 1 year

• He turns and looks in the direction of the sounds. • Babbling using longer sound groups, like mimi.
• Look where you point. papapa babababa.
• He turns and looks at him when he calls him by his name. • Use sounds and gestures to attract and maintain attention.
• Recognize the names of objects and people • Points at the objects and shows them to others.
relatives like cup, truck, juice and dad. • Use these to say goodbye, ask them to charge it, or say
• Start answering questions and phrases no
simple, like "No", "Come here" and "Do you want more?" • Imitate various sounds of speech.
• Plays with you games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. • It says one or two words about the first year,
lard. like mom, dad, no, or goodbye. Maybe not all the
• He/she pays attention for a short time to the words sound clear.
songs and the stories.

1-2 years 1-2 years

• Point to the different parts of the body when • Use many new words.
you know the names. • Usa los sonidos p, b, t, d, k, m, n en las palabras.
• Follow simple instructions, like 'Throw the ball.' • Start naming the illustrations in the books.
Give a kiss to the baby. • Ask what, who, and where, like in "What is that?"
• Understands simple questions, such as 'Who is "¿Quién es?" y "¿Dónde miau (gatito)?"
"What is this?" and "Where is the shoe?" • Combine two words, like 'more bread,' 'baby up' and
• Pay attention to songs, rhymes, and stories mom book.
for a longer time.
• Indicate in the illustrations of a book when it
the names them.

2-3 years 2-3 years

• understand opposite words, like open- • It has words for people, places, things, and
{"cierra":"close","grande-chico":"big-small","arriba-abajo":"up-down"} family actions.
• Follow compound instructions, such as 'Look for the' • Talk about things that are not in the same room.
spoon and put it on the table. • Imitate, for example, the horn or engine of a car when
• Quickly understand new words. play with the same.
• Use the sounds g, f, s in the words.
• Use words like in, inside, and underneath.
• Question why?
• The people close to the child understand what he says.
• Combine three words to ask for things and talk
about them. It is possible that I repeat some sounds and
words.
 MILESTONES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO ASHA (AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE HEARING)
ASSOCIATION
3-4 years 3-4 years
• Respond when called from another room. • I ask simple questions with who, what, and where.
• Understand the words for some colors, • Use rhyming words, like cat-duck and uncle-cold.
like red, blue, and green. • Use pronouns, like I, you, my, we, and they.
• Understand the words for some figures • Use some words in plural, like toys,
geometric shapes, such as circle and square. ducklings and trucks.
• Understand the words for the members of the • Most people understand what he/she says.
family, such as brother, grandmother, and aunt. • Ask questions with when and how.
• Talk about what you do at school or at home of your
friendships.
• Combine four words. I may make mistakes,
I have a blue pencil.
• Talk about what happens during the day. Use some
four sentences at once.

4-5 years 4-5 years

• Understand the words for the order of events, • Use all the sounds of the words. It is possible that
as first, then, and lastly. makes mistakes with the most difficult sounds of
• Understand the words for chronological order, pronounce, like g, f, s, r, l, and ch.
like yesterday, today and tomorrow. • Answer the question 'What did you say?'
• Follow more complicated instructions, like 'Put on' • Most of the time, he speaks without repeating words or
put on your pajamas, brush your teeth and then choose sounds.
a book. • Can you say the letters and the numbers.
• Follow instructions in the classroom, such as 'In this • Use sentences with more than one verb, like jump,
page, draw a circle around something that Play and search. I may make mistakes like 'The
can eat. Mateo's truck is broken.
• Understands most of what is spoken in the house and • Tell short stories.
in school. • He/She is capable of having a conversation.
• He speaks differently, depending on the listener and
place. You can use shorter sentences.
with smaller children or speak louder outside than
inside.

AGE SEGMENT APPROACH SUGGESTIONS • Explain where they are going, what they will do once they arrive, and what and to

Who are they going to see: "Sara is going to grandma's house. Grandma has
Birth to 1 year:
a dog. Sara is going to play with the dog.
• Check the child's ability to hear, and pay attention
• Talk about colors (e.g., "Sara has black hair").
attention to theear problems and infections, especially
• Practice counting. Count the fingers on the hands and of the
if they are recurrent.
baby's feet.
• Reaffirm the baby's attempts at communication
• Count the steps as you go up or down.
looking at him, talking to him and imitating his vocalizations.
• Teach her the sounds that animals make (e.g., "The cow
• Repeat the baby's laughter and facial expressions.
says muuu
• Teach the baby to imitate actions, such as playing with the
hidden ones, to clap, to blow kisses, to play what a lovely little hand
1 to 2 years
and say goodbye with a wave. These games teach the baby Speak during the activities and when they go out. When I take out
•
very necessary elements of the conversation: to lend
the child to walk in the car, for example, point to the
Attention to the speaker and wait for their turn to talk.
family objects (e.g., cars, trees, birds) and
• Talk to the baby while doing activities like
name them. "I see a dog. The dog says 'woof'. It is a dog"
dressing her, bathing her and feeding her: 'Mommy is washing her the
big. This dog is brown.
for Sara. Sara is eating carrots. How delicious!
• Use simple but grammatically correct expressions.
Here are these carrots!
that the child can imitate.
 MILESTONES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO ASHA (AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE HEARING)
ASSOCIATION
• Walk through the house or the child's room while he children to group them by category (clothing, food, items)
teach the sounds of different objects. Present to for drawing, etc.).
"Tito Clock," which says "t-t-t-t." Listen to the sound of the clock. • Recorte fotos de revistas viejas y haga un álbum de objetos
This type of activity helps the child realize the relatives. Help the child glue the photos in the album.
sounds that surround him and will help him when he begins to Practice naming what the photos illustrate, using
learn the phonetic system in preschool and kindergarten. gestures and words to demonstrate how to use the objects.
• Play with the sounds too while you bathe him. This is a • Look at photos of the family and indicate who appears in them.
opportunity to be face to face with him. Play at the same. Use simple phrases and sentences to describe it.
"little boat Pablito", that says "p-p-p-p." Let the child what the photos illustrate (e.g., "Raúl swims in the pool").
feel the air that the sounds produce. Blow bubbles and • Write simple sentences below the photos describing them.
make the sound 'b-b-b-b.' Place the child's hand on the that illustrate. For example, 'I can swim', or 'Happy'
throat when imitating this sound. The engines of the toys "birthday, daddy." The child will begin to understand that the
they can produce a wonderful sound "rrr-rrr-rrr." Reading is the written expression of oral language.
• Help the child to expand their vocabulary. For example, if the • Have the child make decisions when answering questions, in
child says "truck" respond by saying "That's true! It's a instead of asking questions that I can simply answer
red and large truck with a 'yes' or a 'no'. For example, ask 'Do you want a'
• Continue reading to the child every day. Try to find "a glass of water or a glass of milk?" instead of asking
books with large illustrations and one or two words, or one Do you want milk? Do you want water? Be sure to wait.
a sentence or simple phrase per page. When I read to the child, for the response and encourage the child when they can communicate
name and describe the illustrations on each page. successfully what you want: "Thank you for telling mom what
• Ask the child to point to the illustrations that you show him. Do you want? Mommy is going to give you a glass of milk.
describe. • Keep singing songs, playing hand games
• Ask the child to name the illustrations. It may be that the and the fingers ("This little pig went to market...") and reciting
At first, I didn't respond. In that case, name them. children's rhymes ("Ada, the messy one"). These games and
illustrations. One day it will surprise you by telling you the name of songs teach the child about the rhythms and sounds of
the illustration. language.
• Reafirme las destrezas de comprensión del lenguaje del
2 to 3 years child playing 'yes or no': 'Are you a girl?, Is that a
• Use clear and simple language that is easy to imitate. "zebra?, Are you called Patricia?"
• Show the child that you are interested in what he says by repeating it.

his words and add additional information. For example, if 3 to 4 years

the boy says 'pretty flower', you can respond by saying: • Cut out photos from old catalogs. Create illustrations.
"Sí, esa flor es muy bonita. Es de color rojo. Huele muy rico. funny sticking parts of different photos together
Do you want to smell the flower? absurd compositions. For example, I glued a photo of a
• Show the child that what he has to say matters to you. dog inside a car as if the dog were driving.
It is very important when asking him to repeat what he cannot. Help the child explain why the photo is absurd or
understand completely. For example, "I know you want a graceful.
block. Tell me again what block you want. • Classify photos and objects into different categories, but
• Help the child expand their vocabulary. Introduce new do the hardest activity by asking the child what
palabras leyéndole libros que tengan una oración sencilla en the object does not belong to the given category. For example, a
each page. baby does not belong to a category that shows a dog, a
• Name objects and describe the illustrations of the book. cat and a mouse. Explain to the child that you agree.
Presente sinónimos para las palabras familiares (ej., mami, with her answer because the baby is not an animal.
woman, lady) and use the new vocabulary in sentences to • Expand the vocabulary and the length of the expressions of the
help the child learn words in their context. child reading to him, singing to him, reciting rhymes, and talking to him

• Put objects inside a box and ask the child to take them out. about what they do and where they go.

one by one, saying what they are called. Repeat what the child • Read her books that have a simple plot and talk about the
This is a comb. Sara sequence of events. Help the child tell the story or
"She combs her hair." I took the objects out of the bin and helped the... act it out with accessories and costumes. Tell him what his part is.
favorite of the story and ask them what theirs is.
 MILESTONES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO ASHA (AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE HEARING)
ASSOCIATION
• Look at pictures of the family and ask the child to describe what different characters and situations. Play house, to the
it happens in each one. doctor and to the store using the dialogue, the accessories and the
• Practice compression skills by doing costumes appropriate to the situation. Do the same with a
questions. Suggest to the child to try playing pranks. dollhouse and its accessories, imitating different
with your own questions. Make the game more fun scenes from daily life and making the dolls talk.
making the child believe that you cannot answer • Read stories with simple plots. Help the child to predict.
some of their questions because they are too difficult. what will happen next in the story. Make
• Help the child practice his communication skills representations and puppet theaters illustrating the
social and narrative by "acting out" typical scenes of life cuentos. Pida al niño que dibuje una escena del cuento, o su
daily (e.g., cooking, getting ready for bed, going to the doctor) favorite part. They can do the same with videos and
using a dollhouse and its accessories. Practice the television programs, since they also have a plot.
same type of activity when they play dress up. Like Ask 'who, what, when, where and why' and pay attention
Usually, ask the child to repeat if you do not understand. attention to the responses.
for complete what has been said. This shows the child that • Help the child expand their comprehension skills and
What he says matters. I see something
round on the wall that is used to tell the time." Afterwards
4 to 5 years have the child guess what has been described, ask him to
• Talk about the concepts of spatial relationships provide clues about something he sees so that you
(first, middle, last; right, left) and of the can guess.
opposites (up and down, big and small). • Give the child two-step instructions (e.g., "Find your
• Present descriptions or clues and ask the child to shoes and put them on). Encourage him to explain how he did something.
identify what is described. For example, ask him to explain how he has done a
• Practice the creation and classification of categories (fruits, structure with "Lego" blocks. When they play doctor,
furniture, geometric shapes. Ask him to explain how he did the baby's check-up.
• Follow the child's instructions as he explains them to you. Illustrate and write what the child is telling. Thus, this
how to do something. you will soon understand the impact of storytelling and of the
• Pay full attention to the child when they are talking, and writing.
recognize, encourage, and praise their efforts. Before addressing • Play age-appropriate board games for the child, such as
to the child, make sure you are giving them your full attention. "Candyland" or "Chutes and Ladders".
Take a pause after speaking to allow him/her • Comment on the daily activities with the child and ask them to
respond to whatever you have said. help to plan them. For example, ask him to make a list
• Help the child expand their vocabulary. Present for the market, or that helps you plan your party
[{"definition":"Definitions for new words","context":"The teacher provided definitions for new words and used them in context during the lesson."}]
birthday. Ask for their opinion: "What do you think that
This vehicle is on the highway. It is a car. The Should we buy something for your cousin for his birthday? What?
The bus is another type of vehicle. The train and the airplane are What fruits did we buy at the market?
also vehicles.
• Encourage the child to ask for an explanation if they don't understand it.
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meaning of a word. development/How is he talking and listening to your child/
• Indicate things that are the same or different. Play with it.
child incorporating these concepts he will hear later
at school when preparing for reading.
• Classify into categories. Then try to classify the
objects using more subtle differences (e.g., rocks that
they are smooth stones and rocks that are rough, heavy, and light,

big and small). Once again, ask the child to

identify the object that does not belong to a category
dad, but this time ask him to explain why not
belongs to that category.
• Help the child expand their communication skills.
social and storytelling (telling stories) when representing