From my own experience as a parent to a now 7-month-old, I know that it can be overwhelming to try and to make sure that your newborn is hitting developmental milestones. Instead of spending hours on the internet attempting to piece together facts, I wanted to write a blog today sharing a timeline of what you should expect to see in regard to receptive and expressive language milestones from 0-6 months of age. I will also share a list of red flags to keep an eye out for, as well as ways to encourage early language development at home. Early intervention is key, so if you are ever concerned with your child’s development in any way, trust your gut as a parent and reach out to a Speech-Language Pathologist in your area! PediaSpeech Services is here to assist anyone in the Atlanta area who has any language or articulation concerns for their child!
What is Receptive Language?
Receptive Language is the ability to understand words and language. Even as an infant, the foundation of receptive language is being laid daily by the words and sounds that they hear around them.
0–6-month milestones:
- You should almost immediately see your infant reacting to sounds that they hear around them (i.e., a door opening/closing, your dog barking, a pan clashing in the kitchen). They may jump or startle at sudden sounds or even turn their head in the direction of familiar sounds or voices nearby.
- Recognizing and looking towards loved ones’ faces
- Being comforted by caregiver voices and touch
- Social smiles towards caregivers
- Responding to facial expressions
- Looking at objects of interest (toys, food, objects) and following them with their eyes
- Reacting to toys that make sounds, like those with bells or music
- Looking to find a person who is speaking
- Interest in social games, such as playing peek-a-boo
What is Expressive Language?
Expressive Language is the ability to communicate your wants and needs through words, gestures, vocalizations, or signs. Expressive Language is built off the foundation of Receptive Language, so the two go hand in hand!
0–6-month milestones:
- Hearing a variety of pitches when your child cries. If you are only consistently hearing lower pitched cries, as well as having feeding issues, it may be worth reaching out to a professional to have a functional oral assessment (which would assess if oral ties are present)
- Making sounds that differ, depending on whether they are happy or upset
- Making sounds/smiling back and forth with caregiver
- Making eye contact with familiar people– babies love to watch caregiver’s facial expressions!
- Beginning to coo (ooo, ahhh, uhhh)/attempt vocal play with vowel sounds- you may hear vocal play frequently in the mornings, when they first wake up and are lying in bed!
- Giggling and/or laughing at people and/or toys
- Using different cries to differentiate their needs
- Maintaining eye contact for longer durations
- Expressing emotions through different sounds
- Combining one-syllable consonant and vowel sounds (i.e., ba, ga, da) or strings of repeated babbles (i.e. babababa)
- Blowing raspberries
0–6-month communication red flags:
- Not startling at loud noises
- Not watching/looking towards objects or people
- Not smiling socially at people or attempting to make eye contact
- Not hearing them use a variety of cries or differing sounds
- Not giggling or laughing when you try to make them smile
- Not beginning to make sounds back and forth or cooing with a variety of vowel sounds
Tips to encourage language development from 0-6 months:
- Talk to your newborn! Narrate your actions and your child’s actions throughout the day. Early conversation supports the foundations of language, connection, and social development!
- Make a variety of faces, smile and laugh face to face, engage in a back and forth with them
- Use a “parentese” voice—be animated and talk in a sing-song way when saying words throughout your day
- Sing songs face to face with them- you can even add gestures to songs such as wheels on the bus, the itsy-bitsy spider, etc!
- Read books face to face with them- point to pictured objects as you name them, make funny noises, and encourage joint attention
- Respond to and acknowledge ANY sounds that they make (laughing, cooing, grunting, etc.)
- Encourage back and forth communication with gestures/facial expressions/laughs/sounds– make a game out of it and see how many back and forth “turns“ you can take!
I hope that providing these receptive and expressive language milestones in a concise blog post encourages you as a new parent, and that it also serves as a starting point for you to know when to advocate for your child to receive early intervention services. If you have any concerns about your child’s development or notice any of the early communication “red flags”, please feel free to reach out to us at PediaSpeech Services to schedule a speech and language evaluation!