Language Milestones

  • Melanie

    Melanie
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    Infancy

    0-12 months
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    Form

    Phonology:
    Melanie reacts to loud sounds when her older brother plays with his toy drums.
    She also recognizes voices like her mom's, brother's, and dad's.
    She coos and smiles when her mom speaks to her in baby talk.
    She produces vegetative sounds like sneezing, burping, and coughing.
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    Form

    Form:
    Cooing begins- mostly vowel-like sounds
    Makes gurgling sounds while playing with mom.
    Melanie begins babbling and adds consonants sounds to her babbling.
    Turns her head to sounds, like music.
    She produces canonical syllables like "baba, beba" to start conversation.
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    Form

    Form:
    Melanie at 7 months begins to imitate her caregiver's sounds and begins to produce sounds like "moo". She also begins to initiate/ participate in a conversation while waiting for her turn.
    She turns and looks in the direction of sounds
    She listens when spoken to (e.g., "come here")
    Communicates using gestures such as waving or holding arms up
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    Form

    Form:
    Melanie meaningfully produces "mama".
    She pays attention to when mom points to her nose.
    She also responds "Uhoh" when her bottle drops, and immediately looks at mom to get a reaction.
    She points to objects of interest when she wants something. While in the living room she sees a toy on the couch and reaches for it but can not get it so she immediately gets mom's attention by saying "mama" and pointing to the toy.
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    Toddlerhood

    13-36 months
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    Form/Content/Use

    Form: Melanie Imitates simple words in actions by saying "want milk". She has mostly unintelligible speech except for a few words " ki ba" for "I kick ball". Content: By 18 months Melanie can follow two step directions. The mother asks her to "pick up the teddy and bring it to daddy" and Melanie picks up the teddy bear and brings it to her dad. Use: Melanie is aware when her mother leaves the room. She indicates concern by putting her hands out and asking "where's mommy?".
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    Form/Content/Use

    At 16 months Melanie is able to understand most of what is said to her.
    Form: Melanie can begin to express her language by naming a few objects or naming a few body parts. Content: Melanie is able to follow simple directions. Use: Melanie is able to speak a few words and points towards things in order to get her point across. Example: Melanie may want something to eat. She will say the words "I want" and point at what she wants to eat.
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    Form Jan 10- May 10

    Form: By the end of 24 months, Melanie is able to understand “wh” questions. She is also able to understand personal pronouns and also that things fit into different categories.
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    Content/Use continued

    Content: Melanie starts to use single word nouns and it’s around 10-20 during this time period. Melanie is also using more words than gesturing but knows how to shake her head and nod. For example, if mom asks her if she wants to eat eggs, Melanie will nod her head in response to her mother’s question. Use: Melanie is now requesting help by gesturing and vocalizing. For example, she might need help getting a toy from a shelf. She proceeds to ask mom, or someone around her, “help, want toy”.
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    Form/ Use

    From: Form: Malanie is now working on her intonation when speaking with others. For example, she will raise her tone when asking a question. She also demonstrates a better pronunciation of words.
    Use: Melanie can now refer to herself by using her own name. She has been able to follow two-step instructions. As she gains a better understanding of pronouns she has been able to distinguish between he and she or they and we.
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    Content

    Content: Malanie is has increased the use of single word phrases and is now able to use 2-word combinations. She is starting to use verbs, personal pronouns, and begun to use her own name when talking about herself. She has been able to answer questions like who/what questions like “Who is she?” or “What is she doing”. She can also use negations words such as no, don’t, and stop. Lastly, Melanie begins to use her imagination when she hears new words she yet needs a deeper understanding of.
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    Form/ Content/ Use

    Form: Melanie is working on combining sounds as well as using her existing knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of new sounds.
    Content: Melanie is now combining nouns and verbs in short 2/ 3-word sentences. She can use personal pronouns when having a conversation. For example, “You play with me.”
    Use: Melanie is more interactive during conversation and play time. Although most of her play time she speaks to herself she still manages to express her experiences/ feelings.
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    Form/ Content/ Use

    From: Malanie is able to pronounce about 80% of all words intelligibly. She has also begun to use some grammatical morphemes such as -ing.
    Content: Malanie is now at around 450 words and is using verbs, nouns, and adjectives in short sentences. Melanie is now asking more questions and gaining a better understanding of words.
    Use: Malanie is very expressive when talking about her experiences/ feelings. She is very talkative and is now starting to frequently interact with others.
  • Melanie in preschool

    Melanie in preschool
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    Preschool

    3-5 years
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    Form/Content/Use

    Form: Melanie's awareness of rhyming increases. She knows when two words rhyme together. While her mom was reading her a book, Melanie repeats back the words "cat" and "hat".
    Content: She is also incorporating decontextualized language. She does this by telling her mother that her dad is not home because he is at work.
    Use: Melanie engages more in social play and seeks her mothers help when she can not reach a toy, and also gives the toy for her mom to play with it.
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    Form/Content/Use

    Form: During this stage Melanie is producing more consonant sounds correctly. She is able to use different sounds like m,p,b,t,k,s, g, and ng.
    Content: She is now easily using 4 -5 word sentences. She also started using "when" and "how" questions. As well as using Brown's morphemes. Example: Melanie will say "daddy's shoes" when picking up his shoes.
    Use: Melanie takes turns in conversations with her mother and is maintaining focus while they are playing dress up.
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    Form/Content

    Form: Melanie has mastered most consonants such as the initial "sh" and "ch" sounds and final "ch". Some phonological processes are also decreasing such as final consonant deletion, she used to say "ba" instead of "ball"
    Content: She is able to use kinship terms such as "My mommy is home," when she is asked about her mother.
    Use:Understands narratives while talking to an adult of friend -"Daddy brought a dog and left it inside and mommy said daddy should take it outside"
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    Form/Content/Use:

    Form: Uses contractible auxiliaries "Daddy's drinking juice" or "Joey's my best friend" She also combines four or seven words in a sentence -> "Joey is my dog."
    Content:Melanie likes to ask questions such as "What does mommy like?" Also, she uses animacy information when someone says "Find the shovel"
    Use: She now uses indirect requests like saying "I'm hungry" when she wants to food.
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    Form/Content/Use

    Form: Melanie has excellent intelligible speech and has mastered all consonant sounds in some contexts.
    Content: Malanie is using over 1000 words, and her utterances have begun to be more complex. Malanie is now able to use more of her grammatical morphemes such as past tense and plurals.

    Use: Melanie now knows the rules to conversations, for example, turn taking and attention maintenance, and she has become confident when speaking
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    Form/Content/Use

    Form: During this stage Melanie is very intelligible in connected speech and has mastered most of the consonant sounds. She knows letters that make up her own name. She is beginning to write Melanie on her paper.
    Content: Melanie's utterances are more complex. Her use of plurals are consistent (irregular & regular). Uses 1500 & plus words.
    Use: Melanie knows & understands simple conversations, and uses indirect requests. She uses narrative with a sequence of events but no specific theme.