Each child is unique and develops at their own pace as they learn to react to people and the world. From birth a child goes through many physical and mental changes. Although no two children grow at the same rate, experts agree that there are "normal" signs of development.

Delay in any one of these areas can occur temporarily as a result of illness or environmental factors, or it can be an indication of a long-term developmental problem.

As a parent, you are the most important observer of your child's development. If your child has a special need, early help can make a very important difference to their life.

If you are concerned, it is important to contact a health professional or IRIS Conductive Education to find out if your child needs intervention or to attend a Developmental Programme to avoid more delay or more serious problems. We offer a free assessment service.

If you would like to print the developmental milestones, please click here for a PDF version.

 

Expected range of development - 3 months		Signs of developmental delay - 3 months
Voluntarily movement appears. Limbs move smoothly and symmetrically. Kick legs alternatively or simultaneously. Lifts head and chest up whilst lying on stomach. By 5 months, when lying on stomach, can swing straight arms out to the side. Able to put a foot into mouth. Eye-hand co-ordination performed. Hands loose and open. The baby observes and grabs own hands. Starts to keep hitting a toy, but misses target. If given a rattle into his/her hand will shake it. Whinges, arbitrary cries, laughs, utter cries, chuckles. Starts to smile at 6 weeks, a month later responds to your smiles or conversation. Responds to noise, looking for the source of sound. Distinguish reaction towards mother, smiles. Recognises the bottle. Night and daytime sleep, feeding and awake time becomes a routine. Night sleep about 10 hours.		Lack of voluntary movements. Arm and leg movements stiff, jerky. Little movement of limbs. Low muscle tone. Unable to lift head and chest up whilst lying on stomach. Poor head control while pulling up into sitting, head turns to one direction. Hands are still in fist position, unable to bring hands into midline. No response to sounds, noise, not turning, looking and following objects from one side to the other. Doesn't smile much and appears irritable.

Expected range of development - 6 months		Signs of developmental delay - 6 months
Able to turn anywhere when sitting or lying on stomach. Creeps and rolls purposely to toys. Is able to pull into sitting position and can save themselves if they fall over. They can sit unaided by 8 months. Weight bears on legs when held at waist. Holds head steady in every position. By 8 months they will be on all fours and can swing backwards and forwards and may be crawling. Most can pull up into standing position on wide base, but unable to get down again. Reach for toys with one hand while looking at it. Starts to separate thumb and pointing finger. Swaps toys between hands, bangs two toys together and claps hands. Says, "Ah-goo" or similar vowel consonant combination, tries to copy, observes and mimics your mouth movement. Lots of smiles and laughter. Active for 50% of the daytime, spending lots of time observing moving toys. Responds to his/her name and smiles. Likes to look at his/her image reflected in the mirror. Differentiates strangers and starts to show fear, follows mother more and more everywhere. Presence of mum comforts him/her. Differentiates angry talk to kind talk. Sometimes purposely annoys family members. Shows more and more interest towards independent eating. Feeds self with cracker by 8 months, picks up food in fists. Able to hold a spoon and a cup. Some unsettled night sleep.		Legs are stiff and have a crossing tendency. Difficult to change nappies or dressing. Body position is asymmetrical, one hand still in fist. Kicking more obvious on one leg. Head control is still poor. Still not able to roll onto stomach. Significant delay in creeping, rolling, sitting, and sits with round back. Stands on tip-toe. Poor hand-eye control. Not reaching out, easily lets go of toys. Hand can't go to midline. Still startled at sudden noise, cries. Not able to independently hold and eat a cracker. Appears to be quiet and not very active.

Expected range of development - 9 months		Signs of developmental delay - 9 months
Points and puts fingers into hole. Can put two blocks on top of each other. Starts pulling toy by string, takes out small object from the basket, using both hands. Understands basic instruction "no", "yes" and "bye”. Gesturing, repeats words, copies the rhythm of the speech intonation. Recognises if object is big and needs two hands to hold. Remembers a toy he/she played with yesterday. Looking for a hidden object at the same place. At 10-11 months, points out body parts. Plays with stacking blocks, likes pictures in books. Starts to be bossy. Doesn't like to end playing. Knows the meaning of "no". He/she annoys parents to see how they react. Helps more and more in dressing, can pull socks off. Crawls while holding a toy in one hand, turns around, starts to stretch one or both legs while crawls. Pulls up at furniture, side walks, might be able to stand by himself/herself for couple of seconds. Sits for a long time with a straight back. Starts to climb up on furniture, on stairs. Stands alone longer and longer, crouches down and stands up at about 11 months. Arms and legs are very active in the bath.		Stiff limbs, crossing tendency in legs or very placid quiet baby. Poor head control, and poor ability to use hands. Difficult to bring arms forward. Lack of eye-hand control. Difficult to get he/she to stand, going forward one side dominant, rounded back. Fine motor skills not improving, lack of interest towards toys. No favourite toy. Does not respond to basic instruction.

Expected range of development - 12 months		Signs of developmental delay - 12 months
Walking along using a wall for balance or along furniture freely. Most children are able to walk or take some independent steps by now. Able to crouch down and stand up independently or lean down for a toy. Able to pick up the smallest bits from the floor with proper pincher grasps. Push cars on the floor through rooms. Observes people, animals, and traffic with persistent attention. Recognises the noise of dad's car or steps when coming home. Babbles, all day, copying adults frequently used words. Understands "give it to me", "come to me", "say bye". Groups toys by colours and shapes. Very sensitive with strangers. Wants to eat independently. Can resist against sleeping. Co-operates in dressing.		Not crawling, not pulling up to standing, not walking along furniture, has a crossing tendency. Not able to weight bear on legs, no strength in arms and legs. Not able to walk sideways or between furniture. Poor head control, poor use of hand, using one side less than the other. No pointing, pincher grips, awkward movements. Poor eye hand control. Not turning to sounds. Not listening to name. Not understanding some basic instructions. Not interested in toys, concepts. No fear of strangers.

Expected range of development - 15 months		Signs of developmental delay - 15 months
Walking more independently, legs are wide apart and a bit unsafe. They may use arms to balance. Often falls on obstacles on floor or knocks into furniture. Most of the time lands on his/her bottom or falls forward onto hands. Learning to pick up string, lolly, crust with pincher grasp. Likes drawing lines with thick pencil or chalk, recognises some animals, people, and objects from picture book. Happy chatting all day. Says 2-6 recognisable words but understands much more. Holds the spoon, brings to mouth, licks it, but cannot turn it. Chews well. Helps with dressing more frequently. Likes to throw toys, objects to the floor - either in playing game or out of anger. Always curious. Emotionally is unstable, needs constant supervision.		Can't walk or steps with tendency to cross legs. Stands on tiptoe or still unable to weight bear. Fine motor skills poor, can't sit on chair, attention span very short. Late response when calling, becomes frustrated easily. Expresses wishes or needs just by crying. Not interested in holding spoon or food, chewing is a problem, only able to cope with mashed food. Dribbles a bit. Not helping in dressing and is difficult. Becomes tired easily and cries a lot.

Expected range of development - 18 months		Signs of developmental delay - 18 months
Walking becomes more safe and smooth, starts to run but not confidently. Likes to pull and push big objects. Climbs up onto an adult's chair, turns around and sits. Needs help stepping up on stairs. Draws on paper with preferred hand. Recognises more pictures, vocabulary is 6-20 words, echoing the first or last word of your sentence. Tries to sing, say rhymes. Easily able to bring spoonfuls of food to mouth, can hold up a cup and drink cleanly. Takes off shoes, hats etc. Can indicate needs by fidgeting. Toilet training is often successful. Plays for long periods of time with books, toys etc but likes adult around. Emotional state depends on adult.		Not walking or only walking on tiptoe, knees are bent or even hyper extended not lifting the knee high enough and falls often. Has difficulty balancing. One arm is quite obviously bent all the time and hand is in a fist, using other hand to play and reach. No words and difficult to understand his/her wishes and needs. Unable to chew well and has problems drinking from a cup. Unable to climb up on armchair. Not active.

Expected range of development - 2 years		Signs of developmental delay - 2 years
Running on flat feet safely. Easily stops and starts. Able to manoeuvre around obstacles. Can throw ball above head. Can unwrap present, sweets, build tower from 6 blocks. Draws circles spontaneously, can copy vertical lines. Recognises small objects on the page, adults from photos. Hand preference becomes more obvious. He/she knows 50 or more words, and says 2-3 word sentences. Names him/herself. Talks constantly to self when playing. Asks questions, sings, knows all body parts. Asks for a drink, eats and drinks by self. Puts on shoes. Toilet trained during the day. Constantly requires the attention of a parent. Likes to be with other children but they are not playing together yet. Has a tantrum if something is not successful.		Poor movement co-ordination. Not walking unassisted, still unsteady on feet. Fine motor skills under age level, not able to unscrew lid, draw lines or circles. Speech is difficult to understand, tongue co-ordination is poor. Can't suck through straw, eating is still very messy, chewing is weak. Toilet training is not successful. Cries and gets frustrated easily.

Expected range of development - 3 years		Signs of developmental delay - 3 years
Able to walk up on stairs with alternate legs but can't alternate legs whilst going down. Able to stand up straightaway. Enthusiastically climbs up on big toys, furniture or playground equipment. Able to go around any obstacles even when running. Able to steer and ride a tricycle. Able to stand on one leg and jump on two legs. Able to a copy circle, lines and letters. Draws a person with a head and some other parts of the body. Paints with thick brush and uses scissors, with guidance Vocabulary has increased a lot, but there are still some infantile elements. Uses plurals, pronouns, prepositions and simple past tense. Asks lots of questions eg. who, where, what does it do? Knows some rhymes and songs. Can carry on a conversation of 2-3 sentences. Eats with fork and spoon. Washes hands but drying needs some help. Able to dress and undress pulls a zip up and down but needs help with buttons and putting the zip together. Starts to love role-plays. More kind and loveable towards family and other people. Loves to play on the floor with blocks and build tower with 9 blocks. Starting to play with other children.		Unbalanced when walking and falling often. Weight bearing on tiptoe or on flat feet. Unable to run, jump with both legs. Having problems stepping up a kerb and stairs. Asymmetrical posture and poor use of one hand. Has problems using a pencil. Unable to thread beads. Hands are clumsy. Language skills are poor. Social skill is not improving.

Expected range of development - 4 years		Signs of developmental delay - 4 years
The gross motor skills have developed very well. Able to run around sharp corners, even with pushing or pulling toys. Independently walks up and down on stairs with alternate legs. Can climb ladders and trees. Now very skilled on a bike or trike. Can jump on one foot and stands on one leg for 3-5 seconds. Fine motor skills are developed. Able to copy more intricate lines and letters, but occasionally mistakes letters. Draws people with a head and features, hands, body and legs. Knows basic colours. Knows their full name, address and age. Listening carefully and able to tell stories, where fantasy and the reality are often mixed. Eats with spoon and fork very well. Able to wash and dry hands as well as clean teeth. Dresses and undresses still unable to manage tying. Has favourite outfits and fights to wear them. Generally stubborn and can behave impertinently. Can build intricate castles and towers from different sized blocks. Plays with other kids but alternates between co-operation and aggression. Loves to role play,eg: enjoys playing doctors, shop keeper, bus driver, mum and dad, cooking etc.		Child still unable to express verbally. Has problem sitting and playing. Has very short attention span. Not keen to copy letters, draw pictures, use scissors. Behaviour problems. Toilet training is not successful. Messy eating.

Expected range of development - 5 years		Signs of developmental delay - 5 years
Easily runs on forefoot. Very active, always keen to climb and investigate new things. Enjoys skipping with alternate legs, dancing and balancing on one leg. Copying shapes, letters. Draws simple houses. Can count on one hand using other pointing finger. Express needs very clearly using varied language. Now able to manage different emotions. Play make-believe games and act out scenes with friends. Using fork and knife. Dress and undress independently. Wants to play with other children.		If your child has started school they may have problems with achievements and integration in class. If the problem is more serious seek, help from other professionals.