An early childhood educator can anticipate that around 12 months, expressive language milestones include which of the following?

• A. producing one- and two-word utterances
• B. using full sentences
• C. speechless
• D. using complex syntax

Answer: (A)

Around this age, expressive language is just beginning to take shape. Children typically move from babbling to using real words, starting with simple labels or requests. It’s common to hear one-word utterances like “mama,” “dada,” or a label for a familiar object, and some children may even start pairing two words together in very simple phrases. That progression captures the milestone around 12 months most accurately, which is why one- and two-word utterances is the best fit.

Full sentences are usually a later development, emerging more clearly around the ages of 2 to 3 years. Being speechless at this age would be unusual and may indicate a concern, and complex syntax appears much later in early childhood.