Unit 3.3.1 – How communication with children and young people differs across different age ranges and stages of development
0 – 6 Months
By 6 months, usually children will: * Turn towards a sound when they hear it. * Be startled by loud noises. * Watch your face when you talk to them. * Recognise your voice. * Smile and laugh when other people smile and laugh. * Make sounds to themselves, like cooing, gurgling and babbling. * Make noises, like coos or squeals, to get your attention. * Have different cries for different needs. For example one cry for hunger, another when they are tired.
6 months – 1 year
By 1 year, usually children will: * Listen carefully, and turn to someone talking on the other …show more content…

* Choose their own friends and play mates. * Take turns in much longer conversations. * Understand more complicated language such as ‘first’, ‘last’, ‘might’, ‘may be’, ‘above’ and ‘in between’. * Understand words that describe sequences such as “first we are going to the shop, next we will play in the park”. * Use sentences that are well formed. However, they may still have some difficulties with grammar. For example, saying 'sheeps' instead of 'sheep' or 'goed' instead of 'went'. * Think more about the meanings of words, such as describing the meaning of simple words or asking what a new word means. * Use most sounds effectively. However, they may have some difficulties with more difficult words such as 'scribble' or 'elephant'.
5 – 7 Years
Often by 5 or 6 years, children have good communication skills. They are better at using language in different ways e.g. discussing ideas or giving opinions.
Beyond 7 years, usually children will: * Focus on one thing for longer without being reminded. * Rely less on pictures and objects to learn new words. * Use their language skills in learning to read, write and spell. * Learn that the same word can mean two things, such as 'orange' the fruit and 'orange' the colour. * Learn that different words can mean the same thing such as ’minus’ and ‘take