Speech Language Milestones

Speech Language Milestones: What Should My Child Be Able To Do?

Hearing and Understanding 

Birth – 3 Months
  • Startles at loud sounds
  • Quiets or smiles when spoken to
  • Seems to recognize your voice
 4 – 6 Months
  • Recognizes voices and sounds
  • Looks towards speaker
  • Notices music and toys that make noise
7 Months – 1 Year

  • Peek-a-boo and itsy bitsy spider
  • Responds to own name
  • Turns and looks in direction of sounds
  • Recognizes words for common objects (juice, cup, shoe, book)
  • Understands no consistently
1 – 2 Years

  • Points to a few body parts (eyes, nose)
  • Follows one step commands (Come here, Give Mom a kiss)
2 – 3 Years
  • Understands opposites (go-stop, on-off)
  • Labels items in book or on tv
3 – 4 Years
  • Answers “wh” questions (who, when)
  • Follows 3 step commands
4 – 5 Years

  • Listens and understands most of what is said at home and school

Talking

Birth – 3 Months

  • Cries differently for different needs
  • Smiles when sees you
  • Makes pleasure sounds (cooing)
 4 – 6 Months
  • Makes different sounds (babbling,
    gurgling)
  • Chuckles and laughs
  • Shows pleasure and displeasure
 7 Months – 1 Year
  • Babbling has both long and short sounds
  • May have 1-2 words (hi, dada, mama)
  • Uses gestures to communicate
  • Imitates different speech sounds
 1 – 2 Years
  • Uses 1-2 words
  • Vocabulary of approx XX words
  • Turn taking
  • Experiment with new consonant sounds
 2 – 3 Years
  • Speech is understood by family
  • Asks simple questions (yes/no)
  • Has a vocabulary of 100-200 words
 3 – 4 Years
  • Will talk without repeating syllables
  • Speech is understood outside family
  • Uses 4 or more words to make a sentence
  4 – 5 Years
  • Says most sounds correctly except a few like  s, r, v, z, j, ch, th, sh.
  • Uses appropriate grammar

 

What Sounds Should My Child Be Making?

It’s very common for parents to be concerned about their child’s language development and specifically wonder, “What sounds should my child be making?” A child’s development of consonants generally follows a sequence that is common among all children.  There is however, variation between individual children and the specific age at which they acquire the various sounds.

 -90% of children master the following sounds by the ages listed:

3 years old                      p,m,h,n,w

 4 years old                      b,k,g,d,f,y

 6 years old                      t,ng,r,l

 7 years old                      ch,sh,j,voiceless th (as in “think”)

 8 years old                      s,z,v,zh,voiced th (as in “this”)


What should I do if I think my child is having trouble with his/her sounds? Contact a Speech Language Pathologist to discuss your child’s sound development and possible need for a screening or complete articulation evaluation.