[Development] Speech development in the first year

[HIMBA] Development: Speech development in the first year

Speech begins with exposure and understanding of language. When can babies begin to learn these skills? Babies can hear properly from 22 weeks gestation (whilst you are pregnant) and will be learning to listen to your voice.

From birth… your baby can now see and from 4-8weeks will begin to smile back at you, a form of communication. Your baby will cry first to communicate and from 2-4 months your baby may respond to changes in your tone… such as cry when you raise your voice or laugh when you say something funny

Cooing – when your baby begins to coo it develops control of muscles that are later used for speech. Respond to your baby and make similar sounds.

4-6 months – Your baby may try and imitate sounds and coos. They may enjoy blowing ‘raspberry’ kisses to feel the vibrations on their lips. Try doing this to your baby and see if they begin to respond to their name.

6-12 months – your baby may identify and understand a word in a context, like bye bye and waving their hand. They will have a small vocabulary of words they understand (they will not be able to say these yet). They will respond to their name.

By one year your baby will combine sounds into longer sequences ‘dadadada’ ‘gagagagga’ ‘mamama’ Try repeating the sounds to your baby and vary your pitch and your volume. Try being face to face with your baby so that they can mimic your facial shapes, feel your lips move and the vibrations made with certain words.

Top tips – take your baby to new places, to meet new people and this will provide more exposure to language. Children are more likely to have better speech development when parents prioritise this. Talk to your baby and name objects that you play with to build on associations.

Resources:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/helping-your-childs-speech/

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/language-disorders.html

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/

Author: Abigail Laurie Registered Midwife and Registered Specialist Public Health Nurse, United Kingdom.