Developmental Milestones

3 Months

• Responds to adult interactions
• Seeks to make eye contact with adults
• Begins to “coo” and “gurgle”
• Vocalizes a smile and talk
• Responds to stimulation in and around the mouth

6 Months

• Responds to sounds other than voices
• Recognizes own name
• Begins to babble consonant-vowel combinations
• Takes turns vocalizing
• Vocalizations sound more “speech like” 
• Babbling becomes more complex with practice
• Eats pureed foods from a small spoon
• Holds a bottle independently

9 Months

• Gives objects upon request
• Understands simple questions
• Looks at pictures in a book
• Much more complex vocalizations of sounds like a conversation
• Begins to say a few words
• Cleans spoon with his/her upper lip
• Begins to self-feed using fingers
• Begins eating soft table foods

12 Months

• Identifies objects in the environment
• Follows one-step directions
• Says more words spontaneously
• Imitates new words
• Uses toys and objects functionally
• Drinks through a straw
• Bites through crunchy cookies and crackers

18 Months

• Produces at least fifteen words
• Uses consonants such as t, d, n, and h
• Understands 50 words
• Pretends with toys (pretends to feed a doll using a block for food)
• Moves food in his/her mouth from side to side as they chew
• Drinks out of open cup

24 Months

• Produces at least 50 words
• Uses two-word phrases frequently
• Follows a two-step related command
• Pretends in two-step sequences
• Feeds him/herself using a spoon

36 Months

• Produces at least 500 words
• Answers “wh” questions 
• Begins to use grammatical forms (plurals, past-tense verbs, pronouns)
• Produces all speech sounds correctly except s, z, sh, ch, j, th, l, and r
• 80% understandable
• Consumes a variety of liquids and solids

4 Years

• Follows multi-part directions
• Begins to play rhyming games
• Can tell about experiences in the correct sequence
• Produces all speech sounds correctly except r and “th” – 100% understandable
• Eating advanced textures with minimal supervision from caregiver

5 Years

• Has a minimum expressive vocabulary of 1500 words
• Can tell a story (includes a beginning, middle, and end)
• Defines objects by their use and can talk about their features