Pre-verbal Developmental Milestones
Do you know that before your child utters his first word there are many other important skills that must be mastered?
Joint Attention:
- A child must have a desire to interact with people and be social. Social interaction is the foundation of meaningful language. Example: Baby looks at you, grabs her toes, and then looks back at you- you recognize she wants you to play “This Little Piggy”
Vocalizes to Actions & Objects:
- You begin to play “This Little Piggy” and your baby smiles, laughs, and may even let out a high pitched scream during “wee-wee-wee- all the way home.”
- Your baby sees you bringing a bottle to him and he begins to happily coo and babble
Imitation from infancy to the toddler years:
- Baby hears & sees mother’s coos and facial expressions and reciprocates with her own vocalizations, back and forth eye-gazing, and moving hands and legs excitedly to participate in this “conversation” with mom.
- Imitation of actions such as stacking blocks, clapping hands, opening cabinet doors.
- Imitation of sounds like animal noises, kissing or smacking lips, and other silly sounds
- Imitation of eating with utensils, digging in the sand, household chores
Reciprocal Play:
- Child begins to anticipate and wait expectantly during games like Peek-a-boo or Jack-in-the-box toys
Pointing & Gesturing:
- Your child is becoming a more independent communicator, he can now point to show you things he wants or where he wants to go. He may use pointing to “ask” you to name the object or person.
- She can raise her arms up to indicate wanting to be held
- She can wave hello and bye-bye
- He can nod his head for “yes” and shake it (sometimes very forcefully) to indicate “no”
Initiating Social Games:
- Your child wants you to play and he’s not waiting for you to start the games! He turns and looks at you with that big grin then takes off in a sprint, he wants to play chase. He throws a ball that hits you in the face to start a game of catch. He covers his face with both hands, while sneaking a peak between his fingers to start Peek-a-boo. Even without one word, your child just initiated a game.
Take pride in your child’s non-verbal development and offer opportunities to throughout the day to allow her to use these new skills. She is busy laying the foundation for rich expressive and receptive language skills. The next big milestone is coming…. Her first word followed by many more words!
Parents often ask me if it is developmentally appropriate for a child to push the parent or pull them by the hand to an object of desire (a toy out of reach) or to indicate an action is needed (opening a box or turning on a toy). I find that some children do use this as a way to meaningfully communicate before they are talking. Often after the object is given or the action is performed the child will demonstrate appreciation with a smile, happy squeal, or even handing you the object in an effort to indicate he’s wants you to play, too. However, if the child does not appear to acknowledge you before, during and/or after the request and seems to be using you as a means to an end, then this would not be considered a an appropriate pre-verbal routine.
References:
Mize, L. (2012). Teach Me To Talk: Building Verbal Imitation in Toddlers
