Speech and Language Milestones

I probably get 20 to 30 phone calls a week to due to concerns around speech and language development. The following is guideline for when children acquire language skills.

http://www.reachmilestones.com/spmilestones.html Speech and Language Milestones

BIRTH - 6 MONTHS Indicates pleasure (coos) and displeasure sounds (crying, fussing) Smiles when spoken to Recognizes familiar voices Turns head toward sounds and voices Watches your face as you speak 6 MONTHS - 1 YEAR Babbles Understands single words Follows simple commands with gestures Responds to own name Imitates speech sounds and simple intonation patterns Listens when spoken to By 1 year, uses 2-3 words to label objects or people Understands "no" Attempts to communicate through gestures or actions 1 - 2 YEARS Uses jargon or unintelligible speech with adult-like intonation Produces 8-10 words, mostly nouns, though sometimes omits initial consonants and almost all final consonants in words Understands and follows simple commands without gestures Combines gestures with vocalizations Approximates words in imitation Points to body parts Understands actions words Enjoys being read to Points to pictures, objects, and family members Requests familiar foods by name Makes environmental and animal sounds 2-3 YEARS Can produce 40+ words by 2 years Requests items by name Answers simple questions Uses question inflection Begins to use pronouns Understands spatial concepts Begins to use plural endings Says full name Typically uses most initial sound consonants, however, may omit medial consonants and omit/substitute final consonants By age 3, speech is 50% - 75% intelligible to strangers

3-4 YEARS Understands the function of objects Groups common objects (sorts) Identifies colors Understands opposites Follows 2 - 3 step directions Has fun with language. Understands absurdities and simple jokes. Asks and answers simple who, what, where, and why questions Begins to ideate and express thoughts and emotions Able to repeat sentences Expressive language contains mostly nouns and verbs Becoming conscious of the future and past Has a receptive vocabulary of 1,200 to 2,000 words and an expressive vocabulary of 800 to 1,500 Speech rate begins to increase Uses the verbs is, are, and am in sentences Can use "ing" endings Engages in topic maintenance Speech is approximately 80% intelligible to strangers 4 - 5 YEARS Attends to short stories Understands quantity, time, spatial concepts Uses 4 to 8 words in sentences Understands complex questions Asks for detailed answers to questions Can explain "how to" related to familiar activities Asks and answers "why" questions Defines objects Able to identify objects within categories Uses a variety of grammatical and morphological structures (i.e. irregular plurals, possessive and reflexive pronouns; future tense, and comparatives) Produces consonants with 80% - 90% accuracy Speech is typically intelligible to strangers 5 - 6 YEARS Follows 3-4 step directives Engages in conversations Asks "how" questions Describes objects, people and places Understands rhyming Uses grammatical structures such as conjunctions, and the past and future tenses consistently Reverses sounds occasionally Tells creative and imaginative stories