Soon after birth, babies begin cooing or babbling. These sounds are more than just cute; they are signs of early language development. Language development doesn't just include speaking but also includes comprehending and responding to words spoken by others. Not all toddlers follow the typical timeline of language development, but the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders states this does not signify a problem.
Significance
Typical toddler language development refers to the rate at which children tend to understand speech and in turn communicate on their own. Typical does not mean all toddlers will behave the same way, and it should not be a cause for concern if a toddler seems to miss a few of the identified milestones. As long as a toddler does not miss milestones for longer than specified, then speech development is not considered to be delayed.
Function
Language development in a toddler is important to allow them to begin learning how to express their thoughts, ideas and emotions. Prior to learning how to speak complete words or sentences, a toddler can exhibit moderate frustration at not being able to communicate basic needs to his caregivers. Although there have been significant advancements in making communication possible for toddlers who have speech delays or other language problems, realizing the typical development of a toddler can help caregivers monitor progress.
Time Frame
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders points out that the greatest period of language development for humans takes place within the first three years of life. The brain is still developing during these years. Exposure to all types of stimulation can promote growth and development. Speaking, reading and repeating sounds to your child can assist your toddler in learning speech and can encourage learning.
Milestones
By about six months, a child can vocalize many sounds, may respond to his name or respond to voices or visual cues by turning toward them, states the Child Development Institute. By about 12 months of age, a toddler is typically using one ore more words that have a meaning the caregivers can understand. Between the ages of 18 months and 3 years begin with a vocabulary of about five to 20 words that increases each year. Short sentences appear around 2 years of age. By 3 years, a toddler can answer questions, knows most parts of the body and can label them with words and has a vocabulary of about 900 to 1,000 words.
Considerations
Red flags that your child may have a speech problem should be reported to a pediatrician. Early intervention, including speech therapy, can usually overcome this delay or make compensating for it easier. KidsHealth.org points out that between 12 and 24 months, a child who is not vocalizing, responding to sounds or using gestures may need evaluation by a professional. Other warning signs at age 2 include imitating instead of producing words on his own, repeating the same words and not trying new ones or is more difficult to understand than is expected for his age. By 3 years of age, a child should be mostly understood by his caregivers, and by 4 years of age, he should be understood by anyone.
