Have you ever wondered if your little one is on track for their age in terms of language development? There's a lot of information available online, and it can be overwhelming to navigate. That's why we've consulted with our team of Speech Language Pathologists as well as existing research to put together a list of the milestones that children typically reach around 1 year old.
A Typical One Year Old:
Waves hello
Shakes their head for 'no'
Responds to their name being called
Plays games like 'Peekaboo'Babbles/uses nonsense words
Has speech sounds 'p', 'b', 'd', 'm' while babbling
Shows you things they're interested in
Is starting to recognize that words represent objects (i.e. adult says "car", child points to it)
Follows some one-step instructions (i.e. "Drink your milk")
Tries to sing along to different songs
Uses different intonation patterns
Dances to music
Starts to have first words around 12 months (i.e. "bye-bye"; "mama"; "moo")
At 18 months, might say 10-15 words (including animal and vehicle sounds)
If you want to see these milestones in action, we created a video showcasing typical speech and behaviour of 1 year olds. You can check that out here:
If you're interested in watching how speech and language progresses with age, you can also check out our full video series that documents typical development of children ages 1-5 or read about it on our blog post here.
It's important to remember that every child is different and a lot of factors can determine how quickly they reach each milestone and develop confident speech. It's also important to consider how close your child is to having just turned 1 year old, or if they are closer to turning 2. Despite these differences, these videos can still be used as a tool to gauge how your children are progressing based on the range of 'norms' for kids their age.
So, if you notice a delay in your child's speech compared to what you see in our videos, or if you think they could be struggling with a speech impediment, don't be afraid to get in contact with a Speech-Language Pathologist to evaluate if they would benefit from speech therapy. Happy playing!
References
Cochlear Limited. (2009). Integrated scales of development. Retrieved from: https://2ears2hear.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/product_cochlearimplant_rehabilitationresources_earlyintervention_integratedscalesofdevelopmentfromlistenlearnandtalk_en_612kb.pdf
Dosman, C. F., Andrews, D., & Goulden, K. J. (2012). Evidence-based milestone ages as a framework for developmental surveillance. Paediatrics & child health, 17(10), 561-568.
Lanza, J. R., & Flahive, L. K. (2009). LinguiSystems guide to communication milestones. East Moline, IL: LinguSystems.
Learning Disabilities Association of America. Learning Disabilities Online – LD-Indepth: “Speech and Language Milestone Chart” www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/speech-language/lda_milestones.html
McLeod, S., & Crowe, K. (2018). Children's Consonant Acquisition in 27 Languages: A Cross-Linguistic Review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 27(4), 1546-1571.
Andalusia Speech Therapy has multiple clinics across Ontario and offers virtual therapy to clients anywhere in the world. Contact us more for information.