Developmental Milestones

Your Toddler, Our Expertise

Developmental Milestones: Understanding Early Development

Every child develops at their own pace.
Still, many parents find themselves wondering whether certain delays, differences, or behaviors are part of typical development — or something worth exploring further.

This page is designed to help you understand developmental milestones, what variation can look like, and when it may be helpful to seek additional guidance.

What are Developmental Milestones?

Developmental milestones are general skills or behaviors that many children reach within a typical age range. They span several areas of development, including communication, movement, social interaction, and learning.

Milestones are not pass/fail markers. Missing or reaching a milestone early doesn’t automatically indicate a concern. What matters most is how skills build over time and whether progress continues.

Understanding Milestones

Every child develops at their own pace, but certain milestones can serve as important indicators of their overall development. Here are some key areas we focus on during our evaluations:

Social Differences

Limited interest in other children, infrequent eye contact, limited initiation of play with others or pretend or make-believe play

Repetitive Behaviors

Unusual finger or body movements, head-banging, rocking, having strong and restricted interests in particular object or activity

Behavioral Outbursts

Severe tantrums or meltdowns, irritability, aggressive behaviors or self-injury

Sensory Differences

Easily upset by everyday sounds, over- or under-reacting to lights, smells, tastes, textures

Speech Delays

Little to no babbling by 12 months, no single words by 16 months, does not look at you when their name is called,, unusual volume or repetition in speech

Picky Eating

Refusing food, unwilling to try new foods, eating a limited variety of foods

GI Challenges

Belly pain, painful to use the toilet, constipation

Prefer to Watch Instead of Read?

Some parents find it easier to understand developmental milestones by hearing them explained in real-life terms. Join Dr. Andrea Loeffert as she walks us through early developmental signs, common questions parents have, and when differences may warrant a closer look.

Communication and Language

Speech, gestures, understanding language, and social communication.

Social and Emotional Development

Eye contact, engagement with others, shared attention, and emotional regulation.

Motor Skills

Gross motor (walking, climbing) and fine motor (grasping, pointing, drawing).

Cognitive & Play Skills

Problem-solving, pretend play, learning patterns, and flexibility in play.

Sensory Processing

Responses to sound, touch, movement, textures, or changes in routine.

Milestones Timelines

Observing how your child plays, learns, communicates, behaves, and moves offers valuable insights into their growth journey. Developmental milestones are key markers representing what most children (75% or more) typically accomplish by certain ages. Click on an age group below to learn more.

Source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

18 Months

Most babies at this age display social awareness by checking in with you, engage in early communication attempts like pointing and trying to say words, demonstrate cognitive growth by imitating simple tasks and playing with toys, and exhibit physical milestones such as walking independently, scribbling, and attempting to feed themselves with fingers or a spoon.

2 Years

By this age, most children typically show social awareness by noticing and reacting to others’ emotions, demonstrate developing language skills by using two-word phrases and pointing to objects when asked, exhibit cognitive growth by manipulating objects with both hands and engaging in pretend play with multiple toys, and demonstrate physical abilities such as kicking a ball, running, and using utensils to eat.

3 Years

By this age, most children exhibit social adaptability by calming down after brief separations, engage in conversation with back-and-forth exchanges, demonstrate cognitive development by following simple instructions and drawing basic shapes, and achieve physical milestones such as stringing items together, dressing partially independently, and using utensils.

4 Years

By this age, most children engage in imaginative play, seek out social interactions, show empathy, demonstrate safety awareness, exhibit helpfulness, adapt behavior to different settings, use sentences with four or more words, recall events from their day, answer simple questions, identify colors, predict story sequences, draw basic human figures, catch large balls, serve themselves with supervision, unbutton clothing, and hold writing implements properly.

5 Years

By this age, most children follow rules, engage in creative activities, perform simple chores, tell stories with multiple events, answer questions about stories, maintain conversations, recognize rhymes, count to 10, name numbers, use time-related words, focus for 5 to 10 minutes, write some letters, identify letters, and demonstrate physical skills like buttoning clothes and hopping on one foot.

When Is It Worth Looking Closer?

Many families begin to have questions when:

Progress seems to stall or regress
Differences persist across multiple areas of development
Communication or social interaction feels limited
Behaviors interfere with daily routines or learning

Having questions doesn’t mean something is “wrong.” It simply means more information could be helpful.

Milestones, Autism, and Developmental Evaluations

Developmental milestones are often the starting point for conversations about autism and other developmental conditions.

Autism is not defined by a single milestone or behavior. Instead, clinicians look at patterns across time, considering communication, social interaction, play, and behavior together.

An evaluation helps determine whether observed differences fit within typical variation or suggest the need for additional support.

If You're Considering Next Steps

If you’d like more clarity around your child’s development, a developmental or autism evaluation can help provide answers and direction. When you’re ready, we’re here.

Schedule and evaluation

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We accept many major insurance plans. However, participation may vary by state and each child’s health insurance benefits.

We work with commercial insurance plans, TRICARE, traditional state Medicaid plans and managed care partners. We are constantly expanding our relationships as we grow. And, as a part of our process, our support team will review a child’s insurance benefits with their parent or guardian before the first appointment.