Going over milestones...
It was one of those Sundays when I had some time to myself and I figured that some cleaning up was in order.So there I was, duster in hand, going over all my papers and trting to separate what is 'to be kept' and what 'was kept but is now trashable'.And then I spied this A-1 sized paper in between old medical records-a fairly sincere account of Hiya's early milestones, the way only a first-time mom could have kept count of. I figured typing it out and sending that information out somewhere in the world-wide web is probably a better way of ensuring that the informaion is stored for posterity.
Here goes:
Language and Social milestones:
6 weeks-Social smile
7 weeks- Coos
10-11 weeks- Gurgles and actively looks around
4 months- Laughs out aloud
6 months- Giggles, babbles
7 months- Says baba, mama non-specifically, inhibits to no
9 months- Tries to clap hands together, plenty of canonic babbling( consonant sounds)
10 months- Tries to say "shh" in imitation
15 months- Jargons, follows simple commands, points at what she wants
18 months- Vocabulary of 12-15 words. says mama, baba, dey, chees,du-du, nami-nami, bhow-bhow, boi, hello, hi, ei jey, ga-ga(gadi)
Receptive language 'very good'(I wasnt quite sure how to measure receptive language then...i regret that so much now)
24 months-Can say proper nouns, everyday words like 'basho, otho, namo' etc, labels pictures in books, can count till 2, uses pronouns like 'aamar'.
Gross motor milestones:
4 weeks- Head lifted slightly in prone
2 months- Head in plane of body on ventral supension
3 months- Head above plane of body, partial head control
4 months- Complete head control
5 1/2 months (22 weeks)- Rolls from prone to supine
5 3/4 months (23 weeks)- Rolls from supine to prone
6 months- Sits with support
6 1/2 months- Creeps
6 1/2 months (27 weeks)- Pulls up to stand
7 months- Sit without support
8 months- Cruises around furniture, crawls
10 3/4 months(43 weeks) - Standing without support
10 months and a week- Hiya is WALKING!!
14 1/2 months- Climbing up stairs both feet at a time
18 months- Climbs down stairs with help
Fine Motor Milestones:
2 months- Hands in midline
3 months- Palmar grasp
5 months- Transfer
8 months- Pincer grasp
9 months- Releases object to another on request
14 months- Can hold spoon, scribbles with a pen
15 months- Can build tower of 3 blocks
17 months- can build a tower of 4 blocks
As I sat there typing, I was struck by a number of thoughts. First, I realised that like all other parents and pediatricians, I was much more excited about the motor milestones, probably because they are the ones that are so overt and so measureable. After all, I still remember the day when Hiya proudly pulled up to sit on the sun-lit bed in ma's bedroom in Nagpur. And the immense fun we all got out of watching her creep with unbelieveable (and unexplaineable) frenzy towards the fringes on Ma's drawing room carpet. I still remember her cruising along the furniture in the living room in Lisle, Chicago and ofcourse those first few tentative steps between the blue couch and the center-table.
I wish I had been equally particular about the language milestones then, for then I would have definitely noticed the delays. For instance, I remeber how proud I was that hiya was walking so confidently on the day of her birthday. But I absolutely do not remember what she was able to say by that age. I am not clear if Hiya was joining words by two. Although I mentioned that Hiya was using verbs and pronouns and that probably menas that she was joining words, I have not clearly laid that out. Now I know that the benchmark for expressive language is single words by 1 year, two-word phrases by 2 and 3 word sentences by 3. I vaguely remember that I was fairly concerned about her speech and that she was not talking a lot. However there is no record of what and how much she was actually saying in the same month by month progression that I have dutifully recorded her motor milestones. and worse, i only mention that her receptive language 'was very good' with no specifics at all!
Speech delays are very common-more so than we realise. And a history of speech delay can be suggestive of significant developmental difficulties later. Leaving aside the more overt developmental concerns of autism, expressive language delays and speech apraxias, speech delays have been found to be associated with a 3-5 times increased incidence of Learning Disability in later life.
I wish I knew then what I teach parents today. That a 'rich language environment' is key. that language cannot be taught by mere pointing of words in books. God knows I did enough of that, pointing out pictures of things to Hiya in beautiful colorful encyclopedias. It is true that it did not harm her, but it did not help her greatly either. Language has to be taught in context. I tell parents now that language can be taught through rhymes, at mealtime and at bedtime, through stories and songs.I wish my own pediatrican had taken some time to addres my concerns or even ask me for them. I am ashamed to say that my pediatric training had not equipped me to be an astute judge of my own daughter's language capabilities/delays and I realise that neither are most of today's practicing pediatricans, even in cities like Mumbai where I practise. Now as a developmental pediatrican, I probably know better...and as a mom, everything I learn new is tinged with a regretful, selfish thought-Wish I had known it when my child was younger!!"
Here goes:
Language and Social milestones:
6 weeks-Social smile
7 weeks- Coos
10-11 weeks- Gurgles and actively looks around
4 months- Laughs out aloud
6 months- Giggles, babbles
7 months- Says baba, mama non-specifically, inhibits to no
9 months- Tries to clap hands together, plenty of canonic babbling( consonant sounds)
10 months- Tries to say "shh" in imitation
15 months- Jargons, follows simple commands, points at what she wants
18 months- Vocabulary of 12-15 words. says mama, baba, dey, chees,du-du, nami-nami, bhow-bhow, boi, hello, hi, ei jey, ga-ga(gadi)
Receptive language 'very good'(I wasnt quite sure how to measure receptive language then...i regret that so much now)
24 months-Can say proper nouns, everyday words like 'basho, otho, namo' etc, labels pictures in books, can count till 2, uses pronouns like 'aamar'.
Gross motor milestones:
4 weeks- Head lifted slightly in prone
2 months- Head in plane of body on ventral supension
3 months- Head above plane of body, partial head control
4 months- Complete head control
5 1/2 months (22 weeks)- Rolls from prone to supine
5 3/4 months (23 weeks)- Rolls from supine to prone
6 months- Sits with support
6 1/2 months- Creeps
6 1/2 months (27 weeks)- Pulls up to stand
7 months- Sit without support
8 months- Cruises around furniture, crawls
10 3/4 months(43 weeks) - Standing without support
10 months and a week- Hiya is WALKING!!
14 1/2 months- Climbing up stairs both feet at a time
18 months- Climbs down stairs with help
Fine Motor Milestones:
2 months- Hands in midline
3 months- Palmar grasp
5 months- Transfer
8 months- Pincer grasp
9 months- Releases object to another on request
14 months- Can hold spoon, scribbles with a pen
15 months- Can build tower of 3 blocks
17 months- can build a tower of 4 blocks
As I sat there typing, I was struck by a number of thoughts. First, I realised that like all other parents and pediatricians, I was much more excited about the motor milestones, probably because they are the ones that are so overt and so measureable. After all, I still remember the day when Hiya proudly pulled up to sit on the sun-lit bed in ma's bedroom in Nagpur. And the immense fun we all got out of watching her creep with unbelieveable (and unexplaineable) frenzy towards the fringes on Ma's drawing room carpet. I still remember her cruising along the furniture in the living room in Lisle, Chicago and ofcourse those first few tentative steps between the blue couch and the center-table.
I wish I had been equally particular about the language milestones then, for then I would have definitely noticed the delays. For instance, I remeber how proud I was that hiya was walking so confidently on the day of her birthday. But I absolutely do not remember what she was able to say by that age. I am not clear if Hiya was joining words by two. Although I mentioned that Hiya was using verbs and pronouns and that probably menas that she was joining words, I have not clearly laid that out. Now I know that the benchmark for expressive language is single words by 1 year, two-word phrases by 2 and 3 word sentences by 3. I vaguely remember that I was fairly concerned about her speech and that she was not talking a lot. However there is no record of what and how much she was actually saying in the same month by month progression that I have dutifully recorded her motor milestones. and worse, i only mention that her receptive language 'was very good' with no specifics at all!
Speech delays are very common-more so than we realise. And a history of speech delay can be suggestive of significant developmental difficulties later. Leaving aside the more overt developmental concerns of autism, expressive language delays and speech apraxias, speech delays have been found to be associated with a 3-5 times increased incidence of Learning Disability in later life.
I wish I knew then what I teach parents today. That a 'rich language environment' is key. that language cannot be taught by mere pointing of words in books. God knows I did enough of that, pointing out pictures of things to Hiya in beautiful colorful encyclopedias. It is true that it did not harm her, but it did not help her greatly either. Language has to be taught in context. I tell parents now that language can be taught through rhymes, at mealtime and at bedtime, through stories and songs.I wish my own pediatrican had taken some time to addres my concerns or even ask me for them. I am ashamed to say that my pediatric training had not equipped me to be an astute judge of my own daughter's language capabilities/delays and I realise that neither are most of today's practicing pediatricans, even in cities like Mumbai where I practise. Now as a developmental pediatrican, I probably know better...and as a mom, everything I learn new is tinged with a regretful, selfish thought-Wish I had known it when my child was younger!!"
posted by Leah @ 6:15 AM
0 Comments
