CSAD 336 Toddlerhood

for exam 3

requirements of intentional symbolic stage

kids must communicate about 50% of the time with words when in the intentional symbolic communication stage; this is typically when they have around 50 words/age 18 months

age 2

when 50% of a child’s day should be in 2-word phrases

communication act

an observable act that all observers agree is intentional; the sender must intend it and the receiver must acknowledge it

things that qualify as communication acts

a word (signed, orally spoken, speech generated), a gesture (with implied partner acknowledgement), a gesture and eye contact, a vocalization and eye contact, or a gesture, vocalization, and eye contact all combined

qualifications of a communication act

components must occur in a “timely” fashion (~3 seconds); no intervening activity occurs to break up the components (e.g., adult moving, talking, etc.)

true word

must be repeated, have clear intent, and recognizable pronunciation

kinds of play

hitting things together/shaking things, building things (constructional level), and pretend play

when grammatical morphemes start

begin when kids start using 3-word phrases; around 3 years/preschool age; get the easy ones first and then others slowly follow

calculating MLU

total number of morphemes/total number of utterances; start using it once kids are using 2-word utterances (around age 2&1/2); only helpful until about age 10 or 11, and then it plateaus; should match child’s age