A child can be an expert communicator at an early age. Long before the first word, from a baby’s coo of delight to a toddler’s eager response to a request, a child’s brain is constantly developing. The many aspects of communication occur in sequential stages. Each stage increases a child’s readiness to acquire more complex skills. This progression of learning is the same for children with hearing loss or typical hearing. When parents understand the stages of listening, language and speech they can guide their child in learning through abundant, full interactions.
By carefully watching a child communicate parents can identify his current abilities. When a child uses a hearing aid or cochlear implant, his progress might be measured by his chronological age and his hearing age (the length of time he has benefitted from a device). While a child usually learns these in order, some skills might overlap, occur out of sequence or not be achieved. The examples on a developmental chart are used for documenting growth and discussing goals with service providers. Early listening, language and speech are learned best through daily routines and enjoyable activities. With increased communication comes increased success!
From birth to twelve months these initial skills can occur |
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Listening |
Language |
Speech† |
|
Receptive:
Expressive:
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May begin using:
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From 1 to 2 years these skills may occur and increase |
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Listening |
Language |
Speech† |
|
Receptive:
Expressive:
|
May begin using:
Continues to learn:
|
From 2 to 3 years these skills may occur and continue to expand |
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Listening |
Language |
Speech† |
|
Receptive:
Expressive:
|
May begin using:
Continues to learn:
|
From 3 to 4 years these skills may occur and be used in many situations |
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Listening |
Language |
Speech† |
|
Receptive:
Expressive:
|
May begin using:
Continues to learn:
|
From 4 to 5 years these skills may occur and become more complex |
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Listening |
Language |
Speech† |
|
Receptive:
Expressive:
|
Continues to learn:
|
From 5 to 6 years these skills may occur and be seen in school tasks |
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Listening |
Language |
Speech† |
|
Receptive:
Expressive:
|
Continues to learn:
|
† The speech examples in this chart are based on American English. There are vowels and consonants listed here that do not occur in other languages. For example, Spanish does not have a short /a/, /i/, /u/ or a /j/, /v/, /z/. The production of some sounds may also vary in certain geographic areas and in different languages. Families can ask speech language therapists for lists of phonemes for their home language and ages they are typically acquired.
