Infants begin to respond differently to humans than to objects as early as three weeks of age. Neurotypical infants begin to show a preference towards human faces and the human voice withing the first month. Even at birth newborns have shown recognition of mother’s voice which was established from the infant’s time in-utero. Within the first month, infants are quieted through physical touch and begin to learn the patterns of caregiver’s voice intonation, and facial expressions. Communication in these first two months, however, is limited to crying as a means of expressing discomfort (hunger, soiled diaper, sleeping, or pain), yet as the caregivers respond to these rudimentary communicative behaviors, the infant begins to learn that she has some control over her environment and her world is responsive and predictable.
By two- to three-months of age the infant begins to show a social smile, responding to facial expressions and voice of caregivers thus initiating a cascade of social skills that will lay the foundation for social learning and early communication. By this age, infants begin to show frequent anticipation for social interaction with caregivers. This anticipation is shown as seeking eye contact and increase in body movement, and eventually smiles and cooing. Caregiver’s naturally treat these behaviors as attempts to communicate so they respond in like. The infant typically engages in cycles of engagement and recovery (turning away) several times per minute when caregiver is responsive to the child’s social bids. The more the infant enjoys the responses the more she will attempt to elicit this attention from the caregivers.
As the infant grows, she shows the ability to exchange emotions and sustain these face-to-face interactions for longer periods of time. This early back-and-forth between infant and caregiver is the foundation of social interaction and communication skills development. Consistent and positive engagement with an infant whenever she shows interest is crucial in strengthening communication and later language development.
If your infant has challenges with self-regulation as discussed in an earlier blog titled “Regulation and Engagement” she may need your help to regulate emotions and attention by creating times for purposeful interactions in a calm environment. Find strategies to help calm your infant and reduce the amount of other things going on in her environment to help her pay attention to you and receive the most from your interactions. Some suggestions include:
Go to a quiet room away from others. It would be best if the room is free of any visual or sound distractions.
If possible turn the lights down to decrease brightness; possibly a room with some natural sunlight streaming in. Make sure your infant can see your face clearly.
Gently sway or rock your infant during the interaction, making sure she is well supported. You could swaddle if this seems to calm her.
First engage your infant with a non-expressive face. Once you have her attention talk in a calm, positive voice, changing tone and facial expressions. Infants respond to a slower slightly exaggerated manner of speech, big eyes, and expressive eyebrows. If it seems too much for her, dial it down to a manner to which your infant is comfortable and responsive.
Respect your infant’s signals of over-stimulation during interactions (breaking eye contact). Remember infants build up their ability to sustain social interactions. Be patient and enjoy learning about each other.
If you have other caregivers for your infant, you can talk with them about the importance of these types of interactions and request that they engage your infant frequently. In addition, remember screen time takes away from these important interactions, and programs are not responsive to an infants individual needs.
Stephanie Peterson, M.A., CCC-SLP, ASDCS
References:
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence.
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