THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANT LANGUAGE IN THE FIRST 12 TO 42 MONTHS OF LIFE: A THEMATIC REVIEW OF PROTECTIVE AND RISK FACTORS

Abstract

"The development of an infant is both invulnerable and vulnerable. Infant development can be either typical or atypical. Growth is accompanied by a variety of challenges throughout pregnancy, childbirth, infancy, childhood, and the adult years. The factors which may contribute to typical development are termed protective factors, while those which may contribute to atypical development are termed risk factors. This may lead to the assumption that different forms of infant development could be parallel due to their influence on protective or risk factors. This study synthesized research on the development of typical and atypical language in infants between 12 and 42 months using a thematic review method. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial in infants when atypical development is noticed or documented. The study incorporates recent and past evidence and is structured by topics, such as infant development, risk factors, protective factors, and infant language development. The evidence is summarized, accompanied by data collection that describes key characteristics of risk and protective factors related to infant (language) development. The study is directed towards researchers, practitioners, clinicians, speech-language pathologists, psychologists in the field of early childhood education, as well as parents and educators."