i hear foundation: Speech and Hearing Checklist

Speech and Hearing Checklist

Why Early Intervention

Useful Links

Infant Hearing Screening
Naad

One of your baby’s most important links to you and the rest of the world is through sound. Even before birth, your baby hears your breathing, your heartbeat, your blood circulation and even your voice.

Soon after birth your baby will begin making sounds of his/her own. She/he will start responding to sound around her/him. This is the beginning of learning to talk. Babies must be able to hear in order to learn to speak. If they don’t hear, they won’t be able to imitate the sounds to produce speech.

The following guidelines are designed to help you become aware of your baby’s hearing and speech development. As mentioned, these are guidelines and children grow at different rates and are unique in their developmental patterns. Your baby may show differences that are not unusual or alarming.

If you answer YES to all the questions, your baby’s hearing is probably normal.

If you answer NO to any of these questions, or you suspect a hearing problem, DO NOT WAIT. Talk to your doctor immediately. He may refer you to an audiologist, who is a specialist in testing hearing.

With a hearing loss, we cannot adopt the “wait and see” attitude or think that the child will grow out of it. The first three years are the most important for speech and language development, specifically the first year of life.

Any child, including a newborn baby, can be tested for hearing – accurately, painlessly, un-intrusively and comfortably; even while asleep.

Does your baby ...

FROM BIRTH TO 2 MONTHS:
Get startled or awakened by loud, abrupt noises	YES / NO
React to your voice even when she cannot see you	YES / NO

FROM 3 MONTHS TO 6 MONTHS:
Babble to self	YES / NO
Quiet to familiar voices	YES / NO
Try to turn head towards an interesting sound or when her name is called	YES / NO

FROM 7 MONTHS TO 10 MONTHS:
React to environmental sounds: dog barking, telephone ringing, someone's voice, her own name	YES / NO
Enjoy ring a bell or shaking a rattle	YES / NO
Still babble	YES / NO
Try to babble many different consonant sounds (m, n, p, b, k, t, d) mixed with vowel sounds (ma, ma, ma; pa, pa, pa; etc.)	YES / NO

FROM 11 MONTHS TO 15 MONTHS:
Repeat some of the sounds that you make	YES / NO
Respond to music or singing	YES / NO
Look at familiar objects or people when asked e.g. Where is the ball? Where is Papa? etc.	YES / NO
Stop when "No, no" or name is said	YES / NO
Use her voice for getting attention	YES / NO
Use single words with meaning (mama, dada etc.)	YES / NO

FROM 16 MONTHS TO 18 MONTHS:
Point to a few body parts when named	YES / NO
Identify known objects and pictures when named	YES / NO
Repeat and use simple, single words meaningfully	YES / NO
Correctly match sound to object (ding-dong to door bell; barking to dog etc.)	YES / NO
Indicate wants by naming objects such as shoe, biscuit, doll etc.	YES / NO
Speak 10 to 20 words (may not be complete or be perfectly pronounced)	YES / NO

FROM 19 MONTHS TO 24 MONTHS:
Follow directions ("Pick up the ball and give it to daddy"; "Give me your doll" etc.)	YES / NO
Does your baby's voice sound normal	YES / NO
Use a variety of everyday words heard at home	YES / NO
Refer to self by name	YES / NO
Say short phrases or simple sentences which may not be grammatically correct	YES / NO
Show an interest in sounds of radio, television and stereo	YES / NO

FROM 25 MONTHS TO 30 MONTHS:
Turn toward sound signals to the side, below and above her	YES / NO
Recognize meaningful sounds e.g. a car door closing when a family member arrives home etc.	YES / NO
Sing short rhymes or songs	YES / NO
Name few common fruits, animals, vehicles etc.	YES / NO
Name objects and describe them by using words like big, more, nice, fast etc.	YES / NO

FROM 31 MONTHS TO 36 MONTHS:
Respond appropriately when you call her name from another room	YES / NO
Understand and use simple verbs (go, drink, etc.) pronouns (me, you, etc.), prepositions (in, on, etc.), and adjectives (big, small, many, etc.)	YES / NO
Use complete sentences some of the time	YES / NO

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