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This page explains about speech and language development from birth to 12 months and what to expect when your child comes to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). There are lots of activities parents and carers can do to stimulate and encourage speech and language development.
- 0-6 months. This is a guide to how babies typically learn to communicate between 0-6 months.
- 6-12 months. This is a guide to how babies typically learn to communicate between 6-12 months.
- 12-18 months. This is a guide to how children typically learn to talk and understand words between 12 – 18 months.
- 18-24 months. This is a guide to how children typically learn to talk and understand words between 18 – 24 months.
Play and chat with your child often to help them learn new words. Use gesture or actions to teach new words. This can give children an extra clue about the word’s meaning. For example, if you are talking about a ‘huge’ elephant you could stretch your arms really wide. Share books.
Generally, children start talking in three-word sentences around 24 to 30 months of age. For example, they may say things like, “Me want ball.” You can help support your child’s use of full sentences through modeling.
General Questions. Which letters do children often struggle to pronounce at first? The easiest sounds for children to learn are the lips together sounds like 'p', 'b' and 'm.' These might be...
Learning to talk: 3 to 5 years. Your child will soon be putting words together to form sentences and you can encourage them to chat by asking lots of questions. Try to get into the habit of asking them to tell you about their day, whether that's on the way home from nursery or over dinner.
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What should I do if my child has a speech problem?
The ability to hear is essential for proper speech and language development. Hearing problems may be suspected in children who are not responding to sounds or who are not developing their language skills appropriately. The following are some age-related guidelines that may help to decide if your child is experiencing hearing problems.
