Developmental Milestones

Motor Skills Milestones

There are two categories within the area of motor skills: gross motor and fine motor. Gross motor skills deals with large muscle groups such as walking. Fine motor incorporate the small muscles such as writing.

By age one:

Gross Motor:
* sits without support
* crawls
* pulls self to standing position and stands unaided
* walks with aid
* rolls a ball in imitation of adult

Fine Motor:
* reaches, grasps, puts object in mouth
* picks things up with pincer grasp (thumb and one finger)
* transfers object from one hand to the other
* drops and picks up toy

Between ages one and two:

Gross Motor:
* walks alone
* walks backwards
* picks up toys from floor without falling
* pulls toys, pushes toys
* seats self in child size chair
* walks up and down stairs with hand held
* moves to music

Fine Motor:
* builds tower of three small blocks
* puts four rings on stick
* places five pegs in pegboard
* turns pages two or three at a time
* scribbles
* turns knowbs
* throws small ball
* paints with whole arm movement, shifts hands, makes strokes

Between ages two and three:

Gross Motor:
* runs forward well
* jumps in place with two feet together
* stands on one foot (with aid)
* walks on tiptoe
* kicks a ball forward

Fine Motor:
* strings four large beads
* turns single pages
* snips with scissors
* holds crayon with thumb and fingers (not fist)
* uses one hand consistenly in most activities
* imitates circular, vertical, horizontal strokes
* paints with some writst action; makes dots, lines, circular strokes
* rolls, pounds, squeezes, and pulls clay

Between ages three and four:

Gross Motor:
* runs around obstacles
* walks on a line
* balances on one foot for five to ten seconds
* hops on one foot
* pushes, pulls, steers wheeled toys
* rides tricyle
* uses slide independently
* jumps over six inch high object and lands on both feet together
* throws ball overhead
* catches a bounce ball

Fine Motor:
* builds tower of nine small blocks
* drives nails and pegs
* copies circle
* imitates cross
* manipulates clay material (rolls balls, snakes, cookies)

Between ages four and five:

Gross Motor:
* walks backward toe-heel
* jumps forward 10 times without falling
* walks up and down stair independently, alternating feet
* turns somersault

Fine Motor:
* cuts on line continuously
* copies cross
* copies square
* prints a some capital letters

Between ages five and six:

Gross Motor:
* runs lightly on toes
* walks on balance beam
* can cover 2 meters hopping
* skips on alternate feet
* jumps rope
* skates

Fine Motor:
* cuts out simple shapes
* copies triangle
* traces diamond
* copies first name
* prints numerals 1 to 5
* colors within lines
* has adult grasp of pencil
* had handedness well established
* pastes and glues appropriately

Social Skills Milestones

By one:

* smiles spontaneously
* responds differently to strangers than to familiar people
* pays attention to own name
* responds to no
* copies simple actions of others

Between ages one and two:

* recognizes self in mirror or picture
* refers to self by name
* plays by self; initiates own play
* imitates adult behaviors in play
* helps put things away

Between ages two and three:

* plays near other children
* watches other children; joins briefly in their play
* defends own possessions
* begins to play house
* symbolically uses objects, self in play
* participates in simple group activity
* knows gender identity

Between ages three and four:

* joins in play with other children; begins to interact
* shares toys; takes turns with assistance
* begins dramatic play, acting out whole scenes

Between ages four and five:

* plays and interacts with other children
* dramatic play is closer to reality, with attention paid to detail, time, and space
* plays dress-up
* shows interest in exploring sex differences

Between ages five and six:

* chooses own friends
* plays simple table games
* plays competitive games
* engages in cooperative play with other children involving group decisions, role assignments, fair play

Developmental Seguences of Language Behavior

1-2 yrs.

Understands simple commands (13-18mos.)
Recognizes familiar objects, persons and pets (14-18mos.)
Identifies 1 body part(18mos.)
Identifies 3 body parts(20m)
Identifies 5 body parts(22m)

Expressive
Average sentence length:1.5 words
50% of wds. are nouns at 18mos., 39% at 24 mos.
2 or 3 wd. combinations at 18 mos.
10-20 wd. vocabulary at 18 mos., 200 wds at 24 mos.
Jargon peak at 18m, gone at 24m.
Omissions of articles and helping verbs
Adjectives and adverbs appear in speech (good, bad, nice, hot, cold, etc.)
Simple verb forms appear(see, want, go)
First phrase
First sentence
First pronoun (often discriminations between I, me and you)
Imitates many words
Uses stereotyped phrases(don't cry, be careful, get down)

2-2 1/2 yrs.

Demonstrates an understanding of several action words by selecting appropriate pictures (24-27 mos.)
Recognizes and identifies general family names(mom, grandma, etc.)(24-27m.)
Distinquishes between 'in' and 'under'
Distinquishes between 'one' and 'many'
Listens to simple stories
Identifies object by use(comb is for hair, spoon is for mouth, etc.)
Understands come-go, run-stop, give-take
Understands differences of 'show me the car pushing the truck, 'the truck pushing the car'.
Comprehends all sentence structures
Understands size differences(27-30m)

Expressive
Names familiar objectives of environment(24m)
Jargon substantially decreased
200-300 wd. vocab
Asks simple questions(where ball?)
Says full name Improvises own word order(look me no)
Repeats 2 digits from memory
Uses 'a' and 'the' correctly
Uses 'and'(mommy and daddy)

2 1/2-3 years

The period from 2-3 years is predominantly one of transition, when jargon is discarded and when objects and pictures are recognized. A child can now combine 3 wds. to build a sentence; the 3 wd. sentence is typical of 2 years.
Rapid increase in comprehension (400 wds. @ 30m., 800 wds. @ 36m.)
Responds to commands using on, under, up, down, over there, jump
Responds to commands using two related actions(run fast)
Understands taking turns
Can carry out simple 2-step commands
Identifies 7 body parts
Shows an interest in explanations of why and how
Demonstrates an understanding of most common adjectives

Expressive
Begins to use verb contractions(30m)
Imitates 2-word combinations(30m)
Dysfluencies are common(30m)
Rapid vacabulary expansion(900 wds)
Uses short simple sentences(3.1 wd. average)
90% of speech readily understood
Relates simple imaginitive tales
Carries on purposeful conversation
Talks when playing alone
Talks about immediate experiences
Describes actions in a book
Beginning to ask questions
Identifies objects by name and use
Uses personal pronouns(most use first and second personal pronouns correctly)
Begginning to use verb inflections(simple past tense, -ing)
Beginning to use noun inflections(simple plurals, possessives
Continued increase in use of adjectives
Uses prepositions (prepositions of location are first)
Verbalizes toilet needs
Asks for another
Can name 3 objects in a picture
Knows a few rhymes
Repeats 3 digits

3-4 yrs.

Improving in listening skills and beginning to learn from listening
Understands up to 1500 wds. by age 4
Recognizes plurals, pronouns such as his, her, him, she, adjectives
Comprehends complex and compound sentences

Expressive
Expressive vocabulary 900-1500 wds.
Mean sentence length 4.3 wds.
Speech usually 90-100% intelligible in context
Still slight trouble with sentence structure
Can carry on long conversations
Bosses and criticizes others
Articulation skills improving, may still have trouble with /f/,/v/,/th/,/s/,/z/,/sh/,/j/,/l/,/r/,/ch/
Uses more compound and complex sentences which are more gramatically complete more consistent and correct use of plurals and possessives
Question asking 'why' stage
Uses what, where, and how
Uses pronoun 'we'
Can complete opposite analogies: sister is a girl, brother is a _____.

4-5 yrs.

Comprehends 1500-2000 wds.
Carries out more complex commands, with 2-3 actions
Understands dependent clause:if, because, when and why.

Expressive
Vocab. at approx. 2000 wds.
Mean sentence length 4.3 wds.
Articulation 80% correct
Can define words in terms of use
Language is fairly complete in structure and form
Uses conjuctions and understands prepositions
Uses longer, more complex sentences
Will reply to simple questions:What is a house made of?
Will tell a story about himself or environment
Continues to make grammatical errors

5-6 yrs.

Understands vocab. of 2500-2800 wds.
Responds correctly to more complicated sentences, but is still confused at times by involved sentences

Expressive
Expressive vocab. 2500 wds.
Mean sentence legth is 5-6 wds.
Articulation is intelligible
Uses almost all phrase structure and rules of adult english, although incorrects forms still occur periodically
All pronouns used consistently and correctly
Comparitive adjectives are used: small-smaller, soft-softer
Can answer telephone and carry on conversations
Correct use of irregular verbs: be, go, do, get, can, have, will, etc.
Articles a, an, and the correct
Uses prepositions: to, of, in, up, on, etc.
Can tell a familiar story

Ages and Stages
Six Through Eight

Six, seven, and eight-year-olds build on the important developments of the first 6 years of life and seem to settle down to a steadier pace of growing and learning. Young school-age children are interested in real life tasks and activities, and pretend and fantasy lessen considerably. School-agers want to make "real" jewelry, take "real" photographs, and create "real" collections.

School-age children have longer attention spans. They are more likely to stick with things until the project is finished, the problem solved, or the argument resolved. Doing things together with friends, teamwork, and following rules become very important. This age group is fascinated by rules and can develop games with extensive rules and rituals.

Physical Development
- skilled at using scissors and small tools
- development of permanent teeth
- enjoys testing muscle strength and skills
- good sense of balance
- can catch small balls
- can tie shoelaces
- enjoys copying designs and shapes, letters and numbers
- can print name
- long arms and legs may give gawky awkward appearance

Intellectual Development
- may reverse printed letters (b/d)
- enjoys planning and building
- doubles speaking and listening vocabularies
- reading may become a major interest
- increased problem
-solving ability
- interested in magic and tricks
- longer attention span
- enjoys creating elaborate collections
- able to learn difference between left and right
- can begin to understand time and the days of the week

Social and Emotional Development
- being with friends becomes increasingly important
- interested in rules and rituals
- girls want to play more with girls; boys with boys
- may have a best friend and an enemy
- strong desire to perform well, do things right
- begins to see things from another child's point of view, but still very self-centered
- finds criticism or failure difficult to handle
- views things as black and white, right or wrong, wonderful or terrible, with very little middle ground
- seeks a sense of security in groups, organized play, and clubs
- generally enjoys caring for and playing with younger children
- may become upset when behavior or school
-work is ignored

Ideas for Caregivers

- Provide opportunities for active play. Throwing at targets, running, jumping rope, tumbling, and aerobics may be of interest.

- Provide opportunities to develop an understanding of rules by playing simple table games: cards, dominoes, tic-tac-toe, etc.

- Provide opportunities for children to do non-competitive team activities such as working a jigsaw puzzle or planting a garden.

- Encourage children's sense of accomplishment by providing opportunities to build models, cook, make crafts, practice music, or work with wood.

- Encourage children's collections by allowing them to make special boxes or books in which to store their collections.

- Encourage reading and writing by allowing children to produce stories with scripts, create music for plays and puppet shows, produce a newspaper, record events, go on field trips, or conduct experiments.

- Help children explore their world by taking field trips to museums, work places, and other neighborhoods. Invite community helpers to your home.

Lesia Oesterreich, M.S.
Family Life Extension Specialist
Human Development and Family Studies
Iowa State University

Most of the above information from the Autism Recovery Network