ASHA's Developmental Milestones: Birth to 5 Years
Communication and Feeding Skills
Developmental milestones will help you...
- be familiar with what to expect as your child grows and develops;
- identify skills to work on with your child and when to get professional assistance;
- know when to seek audiology and/or speech-language pathology services; and
- gain valuable information and resources to share with your child’s doctor and others.
This is not a screening or diagnostic tool. It is meant to be used to start conversations with your child’s doctor and other professionals in seeking services or making a referral.
Each child develops uniquely, even within the same family, and may meet certain milestones earlier or later than others. Your child may not reach each milestone until the end of their age range. Talk with your child's doctor if your child does not reach many of the milestones based in their age range.
ASHA's feeding and swallowing milestones are based on international data and are consistent across country of origin or language spoken. A Spanish translation is available for these milestones.
Learn more about how these milestones were created and see the supporting research.
Quizzes
Test your knowledge! Try the communication milestones quiz or the feeding and swallowing milestones quiz!
Handouts
Check out PDF handouts of ASHA's communication and feeding and swallowing milestones.
Type of Milestone
Communication (Hearing, Speech, and Language) Milestones
Feeding and Swallowing Milestones
Next Steps
Worried about your child’s hearing?
Contact an ASHA-certified audiologist.
Audiologists can test your child’s hearing. They test children of all ages, even babies. They can suggest ways to make your child’s hearing better.
Worried about your child’s speech, language, and feeding?
Contact an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist, or SLP.
SLPs help people who have problems with speech, language, and thinking skills. SLPs also work with people who have trouble feeding and swallowing. SLPs can test and suggest ways to help your child.
You can find audiologists and SLPs in these settings:
- clinics
- colleges and universities
- home health
- hospitals
- private practices
- public and private schools
- rehabilitation centers
- state and federal government agencies
- state and local health departments
To find a professional near you, visit ProFind.
Resources
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SLPs and audiologists: Use this presentation on developmental milestones [PDF] with your clients and patients.
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PDF handouts of ASHA's communication and feeding and swallowing milestones
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To find out the signs of a speech and language disorder, visit Identify the Signs.
- Learn more about feeding and swallowing disorders in children.
