Babble-On

from Shine Newsletter, Winter 2007

Babbling is just one milestone on your child's journey in speech and language development.

Your child is building language skills from birth. In her first four months, cooing and gurgling
ysounds are shaped into vowels based on the speech heard in her environment.

IN INFANCY

"It is so important for parents to have face-to-face time with their infant and to repeat the speech sounds their baby makes," says Katheryn Boada, director of Audiology, Speech Pathology and Learning Services at The Children's Hospital. "Talking to your baby while you are bathing her or changing her will let her key into the sounds in words even if she does not understand them yet."

Development moves on to consonants when your baby reaches 4 to 7-months-old. She will begin to "babble," making sounds like "ma," "pa," "ba" and "da." This is also the most productive time to talk baby talk or "motherese" with your baby.

"Motherese is a natural activity for both parents," Boada says. "Speaking more simply and slowly, emphasizing syllables and using a higher pitch engages babies on their level."

Research from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Wisconsin found that baby talk helped infants learn language faster. The singsong delivery separates the words the way monotone, adult-directed speech does not.

FROM SOUNDS TO SENTENCES

By age 1, most children can say recognizable words and understand simple commands. By age 2, they can make simple commands and by age 3 most children are speaking in full sentences. At age 5, children are beginning to read and write.

SCREENING AND WARNING SIGNS

Language development for deaf or hard-of-hearing infants can be close to normal if caught from zero to 6 months of age. Newborn hearing screenings mandated in Colorado in 1997 give newborns a better chance or "motherese" with your baby. of early intervention. Any infant who fails newborn hearing screenings in either ear should receive a follow-up evaluation by an audiologist by 2 months of age.

Because some hearing problems develop as a child grows, parents should look for signs that their child is not hearing well. An infant in her first year should react to loud noises, imitate sounds and respond to her name. By 12 months, she should play with her voice, imitate simple words and enjoy patty-cake or peek-a-boo. By age 2, she should use two-word sentences and follow simple directions.

If you think your child is not hearing well, or if hearing loss was detected during a regular physician's checkup, you can contact Children's directly to schedule an evaluation (see "Network of Care," above). During a typical evaluation, your child's hearing, how she understands language and the speech sounds she is producing are compared to developmental milestones. Treatment is tailored to meet the needs of each child in our family-centered programs.

Network Of Care

To learn more about your child's language or speech development, contact Audiology, Speech Pathology and Learning Services at The Children's Hospital Network of Care location near you. Hearing evaluations are available at the Bill Daniels Center for Children's Hearing at The Children's Hospital. Call 720-777-1234 for more information.