One of the key aspects of child development as it relates to pediatric care and development is looking for the signs of cognition among infants and children in the first three months of life and realize if some of the signs are missing help is available.
Even during their earliest stages as infants, cognitive communication begins. Infants usually make eye contact the first time they are breast or bottle fed. From the very beginning there are certain communication skills that we want to look for. Cognition in very young children including infants indicates the strengths a child has in their ability to learn communication skills and an ability to interact with other people by sending and receiving messages.
There is no magic number of things that should be happening exactly at a certain time, but if there are concerns, parents are encouraged to ask someone. Speech-pathologist are a great source of information, diagnosis, and help.
As a general guideline, by three months kids will start to engage in the beginnings of conversation through vocalization such as babbling and other incoherent noises. These are exciting moments for parents who respond to the vocalization.
By five months (keep in mind the timing of these things is variable from one child to the next) there are other skills that we begin expecting to see. We look to see if they are using their voice, not only crying, but using their voice when they’re playing or when other people are talking to them — they should be making some kind of sound with their voice on a pretty consistent basis. Not necessarily forming words but making noises.
There is a strong connection with language and cognitive skills. If there is a deficit with cognitive skills, you will probably see a deficit in language skills as well. This does not mean there is an issue with intelligence.
Ultimately, what we’re talking about is the ability for children to begin learning and then mastering communications skills. Communications is the ability to send a message to a person. We do that through a lot of different ways, such as eye contact, gestures, body language, head nods, verbal communication, and others. Other ways include symbolic methods such as American Sign Language, words, and picture communication. Children over time need to learn these rule-based communications which includes proper language, grammar, and other items.
Communications should start early and never stop. It is also important to see reciprocal communications early on. Back and forth communications can be very exciting for parents to see and participate in with their developing children.
As humans we’re hardwired for social connection and as children get older this becomes more and more important. Things like accents are a manifestation of this. We pick up an accent with our social contact. We pick up what we hear in our environment. We have a tendency to match what other people are doing.
In regard to concerns of cognitive or communication learning skills, early intervention programs exist everywhere in the United States. For children from birth to three years old, parents or caregivers who have concerns about their child’s development can contact their local early intervention program and request an evaluation. For example, the Center for Communications Disorders at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions is a fantastic resource. It is a pro bono clinic that doesn’t bill insurance or clients.
For more information regarding this topic, listen to our podcast episode with RMUoHP Faculty Kristen Ipson and ElBea Stonier — More Than Words: Communication Development in the First Two Years
