Investigating the Relationship Between Early Speech Milestones and Oral–Motor Development in Infants

Aim This study aimed to determine whether infants' oromotor skills were related to the onset of babbling and their phonetic inventory at 6 months of age. Methods Parents of 50 6‐month‐old infants (41 full‐term, 9 preterm) completed the Child Oral and Motor Proficiency Scale (ChOMPS), a valid and reliable caregiver‐report measure of oromotor, feeding, and gross motor development. Caregivers additionally reported information about their infant's babbling and perceived phonetic inventory, or protophones, via an online questionnaire. Results Linear regression analysis revealed a statistically significant positive association between ChOMPS scores at 6 months and the number of different protophones parents reported that the infant produced. Logistic regression modelling showed that infants' ChOMPS scores significantly predicted their likelihood of babbling by 6 months of age. Preterm status and sex were not associated with babbling onset or phonetic inventory. Conclusion These findings suggest a possible link between early oromotor development and emerging speech abilities in infancy. Infants with stronger oromotor skills at 6 months tended to produce a larger variety of protophones and were more likely to be early babblers, per parent report. These results reveal the potential value of early oromotor behaviours as indicators of developing speech skills.