HSLS 6020: Review of Developmental Milestones in Infancy

What are infants born with the capacity to do?

differentiate many speech sounds of all langauges

"Linguistic Genius of Babies" Ted Talk key points

-critical language period

-babies are not culturally bound listeners

-babies take statistics of language on any new language

-statistical learning

What are Stark's stages of early vocalizations?

reflexive, control of phonation, expansion, control of articulation, canonical syllables, advanced forms

Reflexive stage of early vocalizations

0-2 months: sounds of discomfort, distress, & vegetation (burping, crying)

Control of phonation stage of early vocalizations

2-4 months: cooing, raspberries, laughing, social smile, combine vowel-like and consonant-like segments

Expansion stage of early vocalizations

4-6 months: playing with sounds, rising and falling tones, loudness

Control of articulation stage of early vocalizations

3-8 months: marginal babbling

Canonical syllables stage of early vocalizations

5-10 months: reduplicated babbling, non-reduplicated/variegated babbling

Advanced forms stage of early vocalizations

9-18 months: jargon, more complex syllable forms

What is the hallmark development in cognitive advances during infancy?

object permanence

What is object permanence?

objects continue to exist even when they are displaced

What are the features of child-directed speech?

exaggerated pitch contours, high pitch, slower tempo

What does child-directed speech have effects on?

attention, speech/language perception/detection

What is an important part of caregiver-infant interaction?

joint attention

What are some examples of contexts joint attention can be facilitated in?

game play, social play, routines

What makes routines a good context to facilitate joint attention?

consistent context and input, close and nurturing interaction, predictability

What is needed for the development of intentionality?

joint reference and joint attention

What are the two types of joint engagement?

supported joint engagement and coordinated joint engagement

What is an example of supported joint engagement?

sitting and reading a book

What is an example of coordinated joint engagement?

point in the book then look at communication partner

Coordinated joint engagement involves the ability to...?

shift attention between person and context

What are the stages of the emergence of social cognition?

sharing attention, following attention and behavior, directing attention and behavior

Sharing attention

~9 months; joint focus

Following attention and behavior

~9-12 months; follow where someone points and sharing attentional state

Directing attention and behavior

~12-15 months; infant points to inform, request, express interest because they want to share their own attentional state

Join attention is important because it is linked to...?

social development, early Theory of Mind, pragmatics, gestures, preverbal language functions, content learning, early vocabulary skills

What is the major milestone in language content during infancy?

first word

When is the first true word?

12 months

What are the two categories of first words?

substantive and relational

Substantive first words

nouns, people

Relational first words

verbs adjectives, prepositions, social words

Can infants understand some multi-word utterances, even if they are not producing them?

yes

What is an average MLU for infants?

MLU = 1-2

At what age do children begin combining words?

18-24 months

During infancy, what are the kinds of productions that are used?

primarily 1-2 syllable words or 1 syllable repetitions

During infancy, language content is largely ________?

semantic

What are the preverbal language functions?

attention seeking to self,

attention seeking to events,

requests for actions, information, objects,

greeting,

transfering/sharing,

responding,

protesting,

informing

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