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What are the major domains of speech and language development?
All domains interact dynamically throughout development
When does narrative and conversational skill development emerge?
Preschool (3–4 years): simple sequences (“and then…”)
Early school age: true narratives with temporal order and causal links.
By 6–7 years: clear plot, perspective-taking, and story grammar.
These skills rely on growth in syntax, memory, and pragmatics.
How does receptive language typically compare to expressive language development?
Receptive language consistently precedes expressive language.
Children understand far more words and structures than they can produce, comprehension supports production.
This gap is normal and gradually narrows with age.
What cognitive skills support early language development?
Object permanence, means–end awareness, and symbolic play.
As infants learn that objects exist when unseen and that actions have effects, they begin to use words symbolically (around 12 months). Cognitive growth parallels language milestones.
What are typical academic-language milestones in late elementary and beyond?
Language shifts from conversational to literate register.
At what age do children typically produce their first word?
Around 12 months.
Early words usually reflect familiar people, objects, or routines (e.g., “mama,” “ball”).
By this stage, the child understands many more words than they can say. Receptive vocabulary exceeds expressive vocabulary.
What are the hallmarks of pragmatic development in toddlers?
Use of greetings, requests, protests, comments, and responses.
Turn-taking and topic maintenance begin around age 2.
By age 3, children adjust language for listener needs (“Mommy gone work”).
Pragmatic sophistication parallels social-cognitive growth.
What are key literacy-related skills that emerge before formal reading instruction?
Print awareness (knowing print carries meaning).
Letter-name and sound knowledge.
Phonological awareness.
Storybook exposure and vocabulary growth.
These “emergent literacy” skills are strong predictors of reading success.
How does play develop alongside communication?
Play provides a natural context for vocabulary, turn-taking, and narrative growth.
What are warning signs (red flags) for atypical language development?
These warrant hearing screening and speech-language evaluation.
What are typical expressive language milestones between 18–24 months?
Vocabulary expands rapidly (“vocabulary spurt”) from ~50 to 200+ words.
Two-word combinations begin (e.g., “more juice,” “daddy go”).
Basic grammar rules like word order start to emerge.
This marks the shift from isolated words to telegraphic speech.
How does phonological awareness develop?
Early preschool: awareness of rhymes and syllables.
Late preschool–Kindergarten: awareness of individual phonemes (e.g., first sound in “cat”).
Critical for literacy and decoding skills.
Children who struggle here are at risk for reading disorders.
How does bilingual language development differ from monolingual development?
What are typical social–emotional communication milestones?
Healthy attachment and responsiveness drive pragmatic development.
How does theory of mind (ToM) relate to language development?
ToM - understanding others’ thoughts and feelings, emerges around 4 years and supports pragmatics, storytelling, and conversation repair.
Deficits in ToM contribute to social-communication challenges in ASD
When do children typically use multiword sentences and grammatical morphemes?
Between 2–3 years:
Begin using plural -s, present progressive -ing, prepositions (in, on), and pronouns.
Combine 3–4 words into longer utterances.
Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) grows to ~2.0–3.0.
Speech becomes more intelligible and syntactically varied.
What are the major stages of prelinguistic vocal development?
These stages set the foundation for intentional speech.
What are typical milestones for language development in school-age children (6–12 years)?
What early hearing behaviors indicate typical auditory development?
Early detection of hearing issues is essential for speech–language growth.
What developmental sequence is seen in pragmatic language use?
Each builds upon successful mastery of the earlier stage.
What are Brown’s 14 grammatical morphemes and when do they typically develop?
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Brown identified 14 key morphemes that appear in predictable stages (ages ~2–5).
Examples include:
Present progressive -ing
Prepositions (in, on)
Plural -s
Irregular past tense
Possessive -’s
Articles (a, the)
Third-person singular -s
Contractible/uncontractible copula and auxiliary “be”
Mastery by Kindergarten reflects typical morphological development.
What is the typical progression of intelligibility for children?
By 2 years: ~50% intelligible.
By 3 years: ~75% intelligible.
By 4 years: ~100% intelligible (to unfamiliar listeners).
This assumes typical hearing, motor control, and language exposure.
What are major precursors of typical communication development in infants?
These prelinguistic skills predict later language success and social communication competence.
How does motor development influence speech?
Fine motor and oral-motor control develop alongside gross motor milestones.
Poor motor planning may signal CAS (childhood apraxia of speech) risk.
How do early gestures predict later language development?
The number and variety of gestures by 12–18 months correlate with vocabulary size at age 2.
Gestures act as bridge symbols before verbal mastery, children gesture concepts before naming them.