All babies are unique little beings, each with their own personalities and developmental profile. At ECAS, we know that developmental milestones come in a broad range, and not all skills occur at the same time for all babies. The good news is, for all but a few babies, these skills all eventually emerge without additional support.

The skills below are to be used as guidelines only. If your baby is not reaching these milestones by the end of the twenty-fourth month, it should not cause you concern. Just use your instincts! Call your pediatrician and he/she will refer you to your local early intervention team.

Your baby should be able to do the following by the end of the 24th month:

• Match sounds to pictures of animals
• Point to pictures in a book
• Say at least single 20 words
• May be beginning to put two words together
• Imitate two word phrases

• Attempt to sing songs with words
• Kick a ball forward
• Run fairly well
• Squat in play

• Imitate strokes on paper
• Show a variety of emotions
• Engage in pretend play with similar but not real props
• Chew with a rotary chew similar to an adult

• Your baby is not saying 15-20 single words or beginning to put two words together to get his/her needs met (not just labeling objects in environment)
• Your baby is not pointing to an object or picture when named

• Your baby is not becoming more interested in other children
• Your baby is not following a novel direction. Something that you do not say every day, e.g. “Put the block on your head”. Without modeling or gesturing.