• Greeting e.g., saying or waving "hi" or "bye"
• Commenting e.g., "Doggie!" or "I’m getting my shoes."
• Requesting e.g., pointing to an object to mean "I want that” or “Can I have one please?”
• Answering a question – through a head nod, point or words
• Asking for information “Where is the dinosaur?”

• Using a different word (e.g. “puppy”/ “doggie”)
• Emphasizing or stressing the key word
• Adding a gesture or point to show what he/she means

• Starting the conversation
• Responding to someone else’s comment or question
• Staying on the same topic for several turns
• Taking equal turns during the conversation
• Concluding the conversation.Using facial expressions and eye contact
• Conversation rules may vary across cultures and within cultures

Social communication expectations:

By 3 months, a child will:

• Look towards people
• Coo in response to a person

• Smile at familiar people  
• Imitate their facial expressions

• Get excited by familiar people
• May become upset when left with an unfamiliar person
• Often engage in social games like “peek-a-boo”
• Respond to their own name

• Perform for social attention
• May take a turn with their parent
• Will make eye contact with you to indicate they want a response from you
• May show you objects by bringing or pointing to them
• Will protest by shaking their head, crying or pushing away objects
• May point to ask for something or give you an object to ask for help
• Will greet “hi” and “bye” through gesture and body language

• Are able to ask and answer questions (through words or gestures)
• Will copy other children and play alongside them

• Be able to take short turns with a peer
• Demonstrate concern for a peer who is sad or hurt

• Use their language skills to participate socially with other children in play
• Start to problem-solve with their peers

• Use their language skills more independently with their peers
• Participate in conversations

For suggestions to help your child with social communication skills, please click here.

For additional resources, refer to Talkability, by Fern Sussman, available through http://www.hanen.org/ or through borrowing a copy of the book from the Family Resource Centre.

The following websites may also be helpful:

• Description of pragmatics with indicators of Pragmatic Disorders:  http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/pragmatics.htm
• Pragmatic Language Tips: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/PragmaticLanguageTips.htm

If you think your child is not meeting the developmental milestones as expected don’t ‘wait and see’. Contact Us to make a referral for a speech and language assessment.