Paediatric Speech Development

Question 1

What are the stages of speech development in the first 12 months (in order)

Answer 1

Phonation, cooing/gooing, expansion, canonical babbling, variegated babbling, jargon, phonetically consistent forms, and first words.

Question 2

Phonation (def. + age)

Answer 2

Child makes noises, but they are not recognisable speech sounds. 0-2 months.

Question 3

Cooing/gooing (def. + age)

Answer 3

Transition into more speech like sounds, especially vowels. 2-3 months.

Question 4

Expansion (def. + age)

Answer 4

AKA marginal babbling, child starts to experiment with articulators (e.g. lips and tongue - making raspberries). Also includes squealing and yelling and gaining greater control over their speech. 4-6 months.

Question 5

Canonical babbling (def. + age)

Answer 5

AKA reduplicated babbling, series of consonant/vowel like sounds chained in repeated sequences (e.g. mamama, babababa). 6-8 months.

Question 6

Variegated babbling (def. + age)

Answer 6

Child increasingly varies their consonants and vowels, with single vocalisations. E.g. tapa. 8-9 months.

Question 7

Jargon (def. + age)

Answer 7

Babbling that resembles words closely due to development of intonation. 0-10+ months.

Question 8

Phonetically consistent form (def. + age)

Answer 8

Child begins to use same sound combinations for certain words repeatedly, but it is not based on the adult form. E.g. child might repeatedly say baya for pillow. 7-10 months.

Question 9

First words (def. + age)

Answer 9

Child says first intelligible form of a word, consistently produced in a particular context and related to the adult like form of a word. Does not have to be ‘correct’/adult form. Often familiar people and objects, e.g. dada, mama etc. 12 months.

Question 10

Are vowels or consonants acquired first?

Answer 10

Vowels acquired first, usually before age 3.

Question 11

What position are sounds usually acquired in first?

Answer 11

Initial word position first.

Question 12

What are the early 8 sounds?

Answer 12

/m b j n w d p h/

Question 13

What are the middle 8 sounds?

Answer 13

/t n k g f v tʃ dʒ/

Question 14

What are the late 8 sounds?

Answer 14

/ʃ ʒ θ ð s z l ɹ/

Question 15

What early phonological processes do children show?

Answer 15

Reduplication, dimunitives, assimilation, CVCV construction, open syllables CV and consonant cluster reductions.

Question 16

Reduplication

Answer 16

One syllable becomes the same as another in a word, e.g. water to wawa.

Question 17

Open syllable

Answer 17

Words ending in vowel sounds.

Question 18

CVCV construction (dimunitives)

Answer 18

Adding the vowel ‘ee’ to a CVC word, e.g. fishee for fish.