Transcript Infants

CSD 2230
HUMAN COMMUNICATION
DISORDERS
Topic 2
Normal Communication Development
and Communication Across the
Lifespan
Newborns
Primary form of
communication is
through their cry
Newborn Communication
Communication intents
though crying:
 Pain or discomfort
 Hunger
 Overload
Newborn Reflexes
Some common ones:

Palmer grasp
 Rooting reflex
Newborn Vision and Hearing
Vision:
Nearsighted but are
sensitive to
brightness and color
Prefer sharp contours
and contrasts
Newborn Vision and Hearing
Hearing:
 Middle ear fluid
 Evidence of categorical
perception, although auditory
integration is still immature
 Prefer voices to other kinds of
auditory stimuli, especially
their mother’s
 Reflexes:
• Startle response
• Auropalpebral response
Newborn Speech Skills
Primarily reflexive
sounds at birth
Oral reflexes
Crying
Newborn Communication
Skills
Communication develops
quickly because of the
way caregivers
communicate and interact
with newborns
Changes in Communication
Behavior and Development
Over the first six months:
 Some
reflexes begin to extinguish
 More voluntary motor control
 First smile/other facial expressions
 Vision acuity and tracking improves
Changes in Response to
Sounds
During this period, babies start to pay attention
to sounds. What do they do when they are
listening?

Decrease or increase ongoing activity
 Changes in breathing rate
 Changes in vocalization
 Eye widening
 Changes in facial expression
 Changes in sucking rate
Localization to Sounds
Emerges around the third
month
Starts with the eyes and
eventually includes a full
head turn
Clinical application
Changes in Speech
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Increased development and use of nondistress sounds
Some productions of vowel sounds and
back consonants /g/ and /k/
By 3 months, vocalization in response
to caregiver’s vocalizations
Babbling
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Emerges at around 4 months
Random sound play
Extremely important landmark of infant
development
Single syllable units of CV or VC construction
Deaf babies
Changes in Speech
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By 6 months, see evidence of more complex
sound combinations
Labial sounds like /m/ and /p/ are produced
more often
Stop consonants (p,t,b,k,g,d), nasal
consonants (m, n, ing) and vowels comprise
about 80% of sounds produced
Evidence of reduplicated babbling
Emergence of imitative behavior
Communication with
Caregivers
 Recognition
increases
 Eye contact
improves
 “Dialogs” emerge
 Rituals
 Interest in toys and
objects emerges
In Summary…
By six months, most babies:
 Make a lot of different sounds
 React appropriately to different voices
 Turn and look for sounds
 Babble with purpose
 Respond to their name
 Try to imitate sounds and vocalizations
The Second Half of the
First Year
Gross and fine motor
control continue rapid
gains
Most children are walking
independently by 1 year
Auditory Behaviors
and Development
 Auditory sensitivity similar to adult hearing
 Localization ability well developed
 Clinical implications
 Ability to hear phonemic distinctions
 Non-native languages is poor
 Native language is well preserved
 Good ability to discriminate and identify
familiar sounds
Communication With
Caregivers

Nonvocal communication is very important,
yet is a temporary phase

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Language comprehension far exceeds language
expression ability
Able to follow simple commands or requests
Characteristics of conversations at this time

Child communicates nonverbally and adult
communicates orally
Landmarks in Speech
Development by One Year
The use of one or more
words with meaning
Typical first words include
“mama”, “dada”, other
nouns important in the
child’s life
Concept words come next
Babbling development
gets the child to this
point
Stages of Babbling
During this Time
Echolalia--imitation
Varigated babbling--syllables aren’t
identical
Jargon
Phonetically consistent forms
Representation
In Summary..
By the end of one year, most children can:
Recognize their name
Understand “no”
Use several words with meaning
Imitate sounds and use them in play
Laugh and demonstrate humor
Hear well and discriminate a lot of different sounds
Show lots of affection and empathy
Scribble imitatively with crayons or markers
Demonstrate the importance of the social value of
speech
Stimulating a One Year Old’s
Speech and Language
Read colorful books to the
child
Encouraging imitation
Talk, Talk, Talk
Reward and encourage a
baby’s early effort at
production