Get First Words Project - Firstwords Fsu

Throughout the world, infants are typically speaking their first words by 11-13 months, and research suggests that most babies show major improvements in their ability to understand speech by 14 months (Bergelson and Swingley 2012).

It counts as a word if your child is using it: Independently, meaning they say the word on their own, and do not need to hear it said by someone else first in order to say it. Intentionally, meaning they use it in the right context to communicate something.

What counts as a first word? Officially, your baby's word is recognizable, used in context, spoken independently, and used more than once. Speech and language experts break this down further by explaining that word approximations like 'ba' for 'bottle,' animal sounds, and words like 'uh-oh' count too.

As your baby babbles more expertly, around 6 months old, you may hear word-like sounds such as "ma-ma," "ba-ba," and "da-da." This doesn't count as real talking, though, because your baby doesn't yet understand the meaning of these words. By around 8 to 12 months old, your baby will begin to attach meaning to words.

First Words Project The 16 by 16™ series is designed to help families and others learn the critical social communication skills that children should reach by 16 months in order to launch language learning, literacy, and much more by 24 months.

In fact, kids' first words may only approximate adults' pronunciations of the same words. In short, if you hear your child spontaneously saying something that appears to have meaning, is appropriate to the context, and is used consistently, it's likely he's saying his first words.

The FSU Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD) is dedicated to providing individuals with Autism or related disabilities, their families, and professionals who work with them with free consultation, resources, and educational support to build knowledge, infrastructure, sustainability, and capacity within the ...