Many of us know that children develop differently and at their own rates. However, did you know there are speech and language milestones that are important to meet and can affect a child’s overall social, emotional and academic success?
First, let’s begin with identifying the difference between speech and language development. Speech refers to the actual production of sounds. Whereas, language refers to a system of words and symbols that help us with receptive and expressive communication. One does not need speech to have adequate language skills, and those with language disorders, may have adequate speech sound production skills.
Factors
- Hearing ability and vision skills
- Genetic variations and genetic syndromes
- Developmental disorders
- Brain damage
- Premature birth
- Maternal access to pre-, peri- and postnatal care
- Family history of late language emergence
- Parental education and socioeconomic status
- Environment
Speech and language pathologists take all factors into consideration before diagnosing a speech and language delay or disorder. A parent/caregiver interview is done to record information regarding the child’s family and medical history, and a formal and/or informal speech and language assessment is completed to identify potential areas of concern. Other factors such as mode of communication as well as cultural and linguistic variables are also considered.
Milestones
Below we are referring to speech and language milestones and the age skills are typically mastered. It is important to remember that most children demonstrate variances in vocabulary growth and early word combinations. Even though individual differences prior to the age of 4 does not necessarily predict the outcome of later language development, early detection and intervention can help a child to be more successful socially, emotionally and academically.
The following information was provided by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and refers to milestones in overall speech sound production.
Three months
- Makes cooing sounds
Five months
- Laughs and makes playful sounds
Six months
- Makes speech-like babbling sounds like puh, ba, mi, da
One year
- Babbles longer strings of sounds like mimi, upup, bababa
Three years
- Says m, n, h, w, p, b, t, d, k, g, and f in words
- Familiar people understand the child’s speech
Four years
- Says y and v in words
- May still make mistakes on the s, sh, ch, j, ng, th, z, l, and r sounds
- Most people understand the child’s speech
Hearing and Understanding
Birth–3 Months:
- Startles at loud sounds.
- Quiets or smiles when you talk.
- Seems to recognize your voice. Quiets if crying.
4–6 Months:
- Moves their eyes in the direction of sounds.
- Responds to changes in your tone of voice.
- Notices toys that make sounds.
- Pays attention to music.
7 Months–1 Year:
- Turns and looks in the direction of sounds.
- Looks when you point.
- Turns when you call her name.
- Understands words for common items and people—words like cup, truck, juice, and daddy.
- Starts to respond to simple words and phrases, like “No,” “Come here,” and “Want more?”
- Plays games with you, like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake.
- Listens to songs and stories for a short time.
1 Year to 2 Years:
- Points to a few body parts when you ask.
- Follows 1-part directions, like “Roll the ball” or “Kiss the baby.”
- Responds to simple questions, like “Who’s that?” or “Where’s your shoe?”
- Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes.
- Points to pictures in a book when you name them.
Two-Three Years:
- Understands opposites, like go–stop, big–little, and up–down.
- Follows two-part directions, like “Get the spoon and put it on the table.”
- Understands new words quickly.
Three-Four Years:
- Responds when you call from another room.
- Understands words for some colors, like red, blue, and green.
- Knows words for some shapes, like circle and square.
- Uses words for family, like brother, grandmother, and aunt.
Four-Five Years:
- Understands words for order, like first, next, and last.
- Knows words for time, like yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
- Follows longer directions, like “Put your pajamas on, brush your teeth, and then pick out a book.”
- Grasps classroom directions, like “Draw a circle on your paper around something you eat.”
- Hears and understands most of what she hears at home and in school.
Talking
Birth–3 Months:
- Makes cooing sounds.
- Cries change for different needs.
- Smiles at people.
4–6 Months:
- Coos and babbles when playing alone or with you.
- Makes speech-like babbling sounds, like pa, ba, and mi.
- Giggles and laughs.
- Makes sounds when happy or upset.
7 Months–1 Year:
- Babbles long strings of sounds, like mimi upup babababa.
- Uses sounds and gestures to get and keep attention.
- Points to objects and shows them to others.
- Uses gestures like waving bye, reaching for “up,” and shaking his head no.
- Imitates different speech sounds.
- Says 1 or 2 words, like hi, dog, dada, mama, or uh-oh. This will happen around his first birthday, but sounds may not be clear.
1 Year to 2 Years:
- Uses a lot of new words.
- Uses p, b, m, h, and w in words.
- Starts to name pictures in books.
- Asks questions, like “What’s that?”, “Who’s that?”, and “Where’s kitty?”
- Puts 2 words together, like “more apple,” “no bed,” and “mommy book.”
Two-Three Years:
- Has a word for almost everything.
- Talks about things that are not in the room.
- Uses k, g, f, t, d, and n in words.
- Says words like in, on, and under.
- Uses two- or three- words to talk about and ask for things.
- People who know your child can understand him.
- Asks “Why?”
- Puts 3 words together to talk about things. May repeat some words and sounds.
Three-Four Years:
- Answers simple who, what, and where questions.
- Says rhyming words, like hat–cat.
- Uses pronouns, like I, you, me, we, and they.
- Speaks with some plural words, like toys, birds, and buses.
- Most people understand what your child says.
- Asks when and how questions.
- Puts 4 words together. May make some mistakes, like “I goed to school.”
- Talks about what happened during the day. Uses about 4 sentences at a time.
Four-Five Years:
- Says all speech sounds in words. May make mistakes on sounds that are harder to say, like l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, and th.
- Responds to “What did you say?”
- Talks without repeating sounds or words most of the time.
- Names letters and numbers.
- Uses sentences that have more than 1 action word, like jump, play, and get. May make some mistakes, like “Zach gots 2 video games, but I got one.”
- Tells a short story.
- Keeps a conversation going.
- Talks in different ways, depending on the listener and place. Your child may use short sentences with younger children. He may talk louder outside than inside.
Getting Help
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s speech and language development, you can contact your child’s pediatrician. Your child may be referred for a speech and language evaluation with a speech-language pathologist, which will take place within an early intervention program, at school, or an outpatient rehabilitation clinic, depending on your child’s age and insurance.
Refer to our blog post “Encouraging Language Development” to obtain additional information regarding strategies that can help encourage speech and language development with your child.
Thanks for reading!
Reference:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)