Abstract
The cognitive development of 7 normal infants during the period of their early speech development was investigated by means of the Uzgiris-Hunt Ordinal Scales. In addition, the qualitative aspects of early speech development were also studied. This research was carried out longitudinally from 8 months to 15 months of age.
The main results are as follows:
1) After acquiring the first 20 words, declarative function words increased more than demanding and emotional words.
2) The subjects acquired their first words as soon as they obtained the ability for simple object permanence, the concepts of familiar objects and the ability of verbal imitation.
3) Object permanence and Verbal Imitation in the Uzgiris-Hunt Ordinal Scales developed more rapidly in 2 subjects whose speech development were faster than the other 5 subjects.
