By Ms Liji Santhosh, Senior Speech-Language Pathologist, Hamsa for Kids, OMR

Prelinguistic skills form the foundation for talking and understanding language. They are a set of skills that children use to communicate without using words. Prelinguistic skills are critical for children’s language development and overall communication abilities. Prelinguistic skills refer to the foundational abilities and behaviours that infants and toddlers exhibit before they begin to use words and form sentences.

The Basic Pre-Linguistic Skills

Eye contact is a very important pre-linguistic skill. Babies start to make eye contact around 6–8 weeks. It helps babies recognize faces and voices, and also helps them understand things around them.

Responding: Babies also start responding to facial expressions and voices by smiling at you or cooing. Laughing and squeals emerge around 3–4 months of age. This indicates that babies begin to understand that their reactions mean something.

Purposeful noises: Babies begin to make purposeful noises around 4 months. They have established the understanding that if they make a particular sound, their caregiver will smile at them.

Turn taking: This develops when the parents make a sound or smile at the child, then wait for the child to respond. Eventually, the parent and the baby start to take turns with actions and sounds.

Imitation: Babies start to imitate sounds or actions around 6 months of age. For example, you may say ‘ma ma’ and the baby also repeats ‘ma ma’. They also start copying actions like clapping.

Joint attention: Joint attention means interacting with the same object. The child first looks at the object, then at the caregiver, and again at the object. For example, both of you are looking at a teddy bear — the child first looks at the teddy bear, then looks at the caregiver and back at the teddy. It is the unsaid version of “do you see what I see?” It emerges around 9 months of age.

Reasons Why Prelinguistic Skills Are Important

Foundation for Language Development: They provide the necessary groundwork upon which language acquisition and communication skills are built.

Social Interaction: Prelinguistic skills are crucial for social interaction, developing relationships and forming attachments with caregivers and peers.

Understanding Communication: By observing and participating in prelinguistic communication exchanges, infants begin to understand the basics of communication.

Expressive Communication: Prelinguistic skills allow infants to express themselves through babbling, cooing, pointing, and using gestures. Infants can convey their thoughts, feelings, and intentions even before they can articulate words.

Cognitive Development: Engaging in prelinguistic communication activities stimulates cognitive development.

Early Identification of Developmental Delays: Early intervention for such delays can significantly improve outcomes and help children develop strong communication skills.

Preparation for Language Acquisition: As children become more proficient in prelinguistic communication, they become better equipped to learn and use spoken language effectively.

Red Flags to Watch for Concerning Prelinguistic Skills

  • Limited Vocalizations
  • Lack of Eye Contact
  • Difficulty with Joint Attention
  • Limited Gestures
  • Delayed or Absent Babbling
  • Limited Responsiveness to Sounds
  • Limited Social Smiling
  • Lack of Interest in Communication
  • Regression in Prelinguistic Skills
  • Limited Imitation of Sounds or Gestures

In summary, prelinguistic skills play a crucial role in children’s overall development, laying the foundation for language acquisition, social interaction, cognitive growth, and expressive communication. Encouraging and supporting the development of these skills in infants and toddlers can have long-lasting positive effects on their communication abilities and overall well-being.