American Academy of Pediatrics Language Milestones |
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| Age | Receptive Language | Expressive Language |
| Birth to 3 Months | • Attends to voices/sounds (may quiet, vary suck pattern)
• Shows preference for parental voice • May orient to voice by turning eyes or head • Startles/blinks/cries to loud sounds |
• Has differential cries
• Vocalizes (coos, gurgles) • Vocalizes back and forth with caregiver |
| 3 to 6 Months | • Works to localize voices/sounds
• Responds to change in tone/emotion • Enjoys rattles/ toys that make noise • Responds to own name (6 months) |
• Exhibits vocal play with emotional content
• Babbles with single syllables (/p/, /b/, /d/, /m/) |
| 6 to 9 Months | • Looks to family member when named
• Begins to understand words and picture names • Understands basic concepts such as “no,” “all gone,” “bye-bye” |
• Babbles, uses strings of syllables with intonation (canonical babbling)
• Uses “mama,” “dada” non-specifically |
| 9 to 12 Months | • Understands verbal cues for practiced routines (e.g., “peek-a-boo”)
• Recognizes words for common items • Responds to simple requests (“come here,” “give me”) • Looks when name is called • Receptive vocabulary is approximately 70 words |
• Uses “mama,” “dada” specifically
• Points with index finger • Gestures to communicate (reaches to be picked up, waves bye) • Imitates speech sounds • Uses 1 or 2 true words |
| 12 to 15 Months | • Follows one-step direction
• Shakes or nods head appropriately • Points to body part when named (15 months) • Rapidly increases receptive vocabulary |
• Jargons with tone and rhythm of speech
• Shakes or nods head appropriately • Use of 3 to 6 words |
| 15 to 18 Months | • Understands simple pronouns (“you,” “me”)
• Points to objects/pictures (18 months) • Recognizes common objects by name |
• Repeats words
• Says “no” • Uses 5 to 50 words mixed with jargon • Uses words for wants/needs • Learns new words weekly |
| 18 to 24 Months | • Follows two-step directions
• Enjoys simple stories, being read to |
• Experiences a language “explosion,” learning new words daily
• Uses two-word phrases/telegraphic speech • Begins to use simple pronouns • Has an average vocabulary of 200 Words by 2 years • Speech 50% intelligible by 2 years |
| 24 to 30 Months | • Understands pronouns (“you,” “me,” “my,” “mine”)
• Understands some prepositions (e.g., in, on, under) • Identifies objects by use |
• Has decreased jargon and repeating
• Commonly uses 2- to 3-word sentences • Increasingly uses pronouns; some adjectives, adverbs, prepositions • Asks simple questions • Joins songs/nursery rhymes |
| 30 to 36 Months | • Follows 2- to 3-step directions
• Understands most common objects and pictures • Points to different actions in pictures • Identifies several colors |
• Answers questions
• Helps to tell simple story • Average vocabulary: 900 to 1,000 words • Uses 4- to 5-word sentences by 3 years • Speech ~75% intelligible by 3 years |
| 36 to 48 Months | • Listens with interest to conversations, longer stories
• Points to object by category • Understands concepts of relative amount/size • Understands past tense |
• Uses 5- to 6-word sentences by 4 years
• Can state name, age, gender • Talks about experiences • Has fully intelligible speech by 4 years |
| 48 to 60 Months | • Uses complex sentence structure and includes much detail
• Uses irregular past tense, future tense • Tells longer stories, staying on topic • Can rhyme words and use some letters and numbers |
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