Whether you are a brand new mom or simply unsure if your youngster is on track with speech- language milestones, here is a short list of skills we generally see unfold in developing children:
Hearing and Understanding (Receptive language)
12- 24 months-
Points to a few body parts when asked
Follows simple commands and understands simple questions (“Roll the ball,” “Find the baby,” “Where’s your shoe?”)
Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes
Points to pictures in a book when named
24- 36 months-
Understands names of a variety of common objects (nouns) and basic actions in context (verbs)
Understands differences in meaning (“go-stop,” “in-on,” “big-little,” “up-down”)- spatial and descriptive concepts
Follows two requests (“Get the book and put it on the table”)- these are two part commands
Listens to and enjoys hearing stories for longer periods of time- able to attend and show interest in learning more
Three to Four years-
Hears you when you call from another room
Hears television or radio at the same loudness level as other family members
Understands words for some colors, like red, blue, and green
Understands words for some shapes, like circle and square
Follows two and three step requests
Undersands a variety of ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’ questions across most contexts
Talking (Expressive language)
12- 24 months-
Vocalizes more consonant sounds- developmentally earlier ones are: b, p, m, w
Imitates sounds and approximates commonly used words
Says more words every month
Uses some one- or two- word questions (“Where kitty?” “Go bye-bye?” “What’s that?”)
Puts two words together (“more cookie,” “no juice,” “mommy book”)
Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words
24- 36 months-
Has a word for almost everything
Uses two- or three- words to talk about and ask for things
Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds
Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time
Often asks for or directs attention to objects by naming them
Asks ‘why?’
May “stutter” on words or sounds- for many kids this is just a phase of figuring out motor aspect of speech
Three to Four years-
Talks about activities at school or at friends’ homes
Talks about what happened during the day
Uses about 4 sentences at a time
People outside of the family usually understand child’s speech
Answers simple “who?”, “what?”, and “where?” questions
Asks ‘when’ and ‘how’ questions
Says rhyming words, like hat-cat
Uses pronouns, like I, you, me, we, and they
Uses some plural words, like toys, birds, and buses
Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words
Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words
Adapted from ASHA guidelines
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