Language Disorders from Infancy Through Adolescence: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Communicating

by Courtenay Norbury DPhil

TABLE 7.6 Summary of Comprehension Abilities in Children Up to 3 Years Old Age Comprehension Ability Comprehension Strategy 8 to 12 months old Understands a few single words in routine contexts Look at same objects as mother Act on objects noticed Imitate ongoing action 12 to 18 months old Understands single words outside of routine, but still requires some contextual support Attend to object mentioned Give evidence of notice Do what you usually do 18 to 24 months old Understands words for absent objects, some two-term combinations Locate objects mentioned, give evidence of notice Put objects in containers, on surfaces Act on objects in the way mentioned (child as agent) 24 to 36 months old Comprehends three-term sentences, but context or past experience determines meaning; little understanding of word order Probable location, probable event Supply missing information Adapted from Chapman, R. (1978). Comprehension strategies in children. In J. F. Kavanaugh & W. Strange (Eds.), Speech and language in the laboratory, school, and clinic (pp. 308-327). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; Edmonston, N., & Thane, N. (1992). Children’s use of comprehension strategies in response to relational words: Implications for assessment. Am J Speech Lang Pathol, 1, 30-35.