Identify the communication development needs of children
3-12 months Cooing, smiling, and laughing
Playing with sounds – babbling (e.g. da, da, da)
Communicating with gestures like waving and pointing
Sounding like they’re talking, but not using recognisable words
12-18 months Saying their first words with meaning – for example, saying ‘mama’ to call for their mum
Understanding many more words than they can say, including instructions like ‘sit down’
Mostly using nouns in their speech, such as ‘car’ or ‘duck’
By 18 months, using between 50 to 150 words
18 months to 2 years Combining words in telegraphic speech (e.g. ‘me go’, ‘dada throw ball’)
Using simple pronouns (‘me’, ‘I’, and ‘you’), but often confusing ‘me’ and ‘I’
Naming objects that they see regularly
Responding to simple commands like ‘pick up your coat’
2-3 years Beginning to say longer sentences of three or four words
Using some plurals and past tenses
Talking about what they’re doing as they do it
Conversation skills improve – they respond to you more often
3-4 years Speaking more clearly – strangers can mostly understand them
Asking ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’ questions
4-5 years Using more complex sentences with words like ‘because’, ‘if’, ‘and’, or ‘when’
Telling stories and simple jokes
Being able to answer questions about stories
Being able to follow requests
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