28 Yoga for Speech-Language Development
Stages of language development
In this section we describe the stages of language acquisition
from a developmental perspective, which espouses that all aspects
of the child’s development—cognitive, neurobiological, social-
emotional, and affective—contribute to the language acquisition
process. According to this view, development is both integrative
and synergistic across these domains. Gerber and Prizant (2000)
provide an overview of seven stages of language development that
is consistent with the models described above. Table 2.1 lists a
description of each stage. These stages can be used to describe
the language development of typically developing children as
well as those with challenges in learning to communicate, talk,
and understand. Of course, the stages do not begin and end at
discrete points, but rather are continuous over time. In addition,
children vary in their rate of development so that the amount of
time needed to pass from one stage to another differs depending
on several factors, such as the child’s constitution, temperament,
learning capacities, and environment.
Table 2.1 Stages, ages, and characteristics of communication-
language development in typically developing children
Stage Age Communication-language
characteristics
Preintentional Birth to
8 monthsInfants gaze, smile, laugh, touch,
grasp, and vocalize to express
their feelings and interest in
the world; adults interpret their
behaviors as communicative.
Prelinguistic
Intentional8–12 months Infants engage in purposeful,
intentional two-way
communication through gestures,
gaze, and vocalizations.
One-Word
Utterances12–18 months Toddlers acquire approximately
50 different words, which they
use to express basic meanings
and communicate with others.