Receptive Language
- Follows simple one-step commands
- Points to recognized objects (emerging nomination)
- Begins to claim certain objects (emerging possession)
- Points to one to three body parts on command
- Identifies 2 or more objects or pictures from a group
- Perceives others emotions
- Recognizes own name
- Looks in the direction of sound
- Understands “no”
- Waves good-bye
Expressive Language
- Uses 3 to 20 words
- Vocalizes with gestures
- Says “all gone” (emerging negation)
- Answers question, “what’s this?”
- Asks for “more” (emerging recurrence)
- Imitates familiar words
- Makes some environmental noises, familiar animals and machines
- 50% of utterances are nouns
- Average length of responses are 1 to 2 words
Articulation/Verbal Output
- Uses sentence-like intonations (jargon)
- Some echolalia
- Uses most vowels and consonants in jargon
- Omits final consonants and some initial consonants
- Basically unintelligible with exception of a few words
- Words produced with consonant vowel-structure (bo/boat) emerge
- Accurately imitates some words
Pragmatic/Social Language
- Shows interest in other children
- Bring objects to show an adult
- Requests objects by pointing, vocalizing, or using word approximation
- Points to show things to others
- Solicits another’s attention vocally, physically and possibly with a word (“mommy”)
- Gesturally request action/assistance (may give back wind-up toy to request activation)
- Imitates your behavior
- Says “bye” and possibly a few conversational words such as “hi”, “thank-you” and “please”
- Protests by saying “no,” shaking head, moving away, frowning or pushing objects away
- Shows feelings, for example, temper tantrums, fear of strangers, affection with familiar people or clinging to a familiar adult in new situations
- Comments on object/action by directing listener’s attention to it
- Acknowledges another’s speech by eye contact, vocally responding or repeating a word
- Teases, scolds and warns using gestures plus a vocalization or word approximation
Play Skills
- Plays simple pretend, such as feeding a baby
- Solitary or onlooker play – self play
- Begins running
- Scribbles spontaneously with crayon
- Puts object in and out of containers
- Can figure out ways to overcoming some obstacles (opening doors, reaching high places)
- Imitates many things (sweeping, combing hair – self-use)
- Pulls toys; carries or hugs doll, teddy bear
- Very rapid shifts in attention-especially expressed by gross motor shifts
- Tries new things with familiar adults nearby
- Hands things to others as part of play
Oral Motor
- Can bite through a soft cookie
- Coordinates suck swallow breath for longer sequences
- Can eat finely chopped table foods with thumb and index fingers
- Able to eat all textures
- Scoops food to mouth
- Able to drink through a straw
- Bites through crunchy foods like crackers
- Child has a rotary chew pattern
- Moves food inside the mouth from right to left
- Holds open or handled cup and drinks with some spillage
- Begins to self-feed with spoon
Literacy
- Reaches for books
- Look at and touches pictures in the book
- Helps to turn pages
- Makes noises in response to familiar stories