Section
Milestones by Age
A map of language development from birth to age five. These are reference ranges, not a test — use them to build understanding and inform conversations with your child's paediatrician or SLP.
Read the framing guide first →Jump to an age range
- Birth – 12 months
Birth to 12 Months
Sounds before words — cooing, babbling, first gestures, and the back-and-forth that lays the foundation for language.
Read → - 12 – 24 months
12 to 24 Months
First words arrive, vocabulary grows, and two-word combinations begin. The "late talker" window — and why early referral matters.
Read → - 24 – 36 months
24 to 36 Months
From two-word phrases to sentences. The vocabulary explosion, intelligibility benchmarks, and what to watch for.
Read → - 3 – 5 years
3 to 5 Years
Stories, questions, conversations. Sentences become complex and most speech sounds come into place.
Read →
Before you read
Milestone norms are population-level reference points, not predictions about any individual child. Autistic children, gestalt language processors, multilingual children, and children with hearing differences may develop communication on a different timeline — and that variation is real, not a flaw.
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