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EARLY YEARS LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES

Listed below are some key language development milestones 

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For more in-depth information head to Speech Pathology Australia's communication milestones information page 

Language Development Milestones: Text

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE- TALKING

At 12 Months: 

  • Start to use sounds, gestures and a few words to communicate 

  • Continue to babble and copy sounds and noises 

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At 18 Months: 

  • Says 6-20 single words, some easier to understand than others, but becoming more consistent 

  • Name a few body parts 

  • Use objects in pretend play (e.g. hold a toy phone up to their ear and say "hello")

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At 2 Years: 

  • Say more than 50 single words 

  • Put 2 words together 

  • Say 'no' when they don't want something 

  • Use their tone of voice to ask a question (e.g. "dolly go?")

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At 3 Years: 

  • Say 4-5 words in a sentence 

  • Ask question using 'what', 'where' and 'who'

  • Talk about something in the past 

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At 4 Years: 

  • Use words such as 'and', 'but' and 'because', to make longer sentences 

  • ask lots of questions 

  • count to five and name a few colours 

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At 5 Years: 

  • Use well formed sentences to be understood by most people 

  • Tell simple, short stories, with a beginning middle and end 

  • Use past and future tense correctly (e.g. "went", "will go")

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Language Development Milestones: Services

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE- UNDERSTANDING

At 12 Months: 

  • Understand about 10 words 

  • Respond to tehir name 

  • Recognise greetings and gestures, such as 'hi' and 'bye-bye'

  • Make eye contact 

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At 18 Monhs: 

  • Understand up to 50 words 

  • Follow simple instructions (e.g. 'throw the ball')

  • Point to some pictures in a book or objects in their environment when named 

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At 2 Years: 

  • Follow simple 2-part instructions (e.g. 'give me the ball and the car')

  • Respond to simple wh-questions, such as 'what' and 'where'

  • Understand when an object is 'on' or 'in' something 

  • Point to several body parts 

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At 3 Years: 

  • Follow more complex two-part instructions (e.g. "give me the teddy and throw the ball')

  • Understand the concept of 'same ' and 'different'

  • Sort items into groups (e.g. toys vs food)

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At 4 Years: 

  • Answer most questions about daily tasks 

  • Understand some numbers 

  • Show an awareness that some words start or finish with the same sound 

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At 5 Years: 

  • Follow three part instructions (e.g. 'put on your shoes, get you bag and line up outside')

  • Understand time related words (e.g. 'before', 'after', 'now' and 'later')

  • Understand instructions without stopping to listen 

  • Begin to recognise some letters, sounds and numbers 

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Language Development Milestones: Services

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