The sound pattern of language that we call speech or articulation is made up of combinations of sounds that form words. Speech development is a gradual process. It begins in infancy and continues through a child s seventh or eighth year. Children develop speech abilities at different rates and ages.
Some children develop slower of faster than the average.
Newborns are limited to crying, which signals hunger or discomfort, and to other non-cry sounds such as burps, coughs and sneezes. Between two and three months of age your baby is better able to control the vocal muscles of the mouth, larynx and throat. During this period your baby begins to laugh. During the period of 4 - 6 months, babies develop greater control of their oral structures. They can produce sounds that are more like speech.