Toddlers By Sofia Tilton ,
When I first became a new mom, I remember going to my pediatrician’s office checking “yes” and “no” boxes on questionnaires for every well visit. I felt somewhat confident with my answers since I was borderline obsessed with reading all my new baby apps that informed me of my daughter’s milestones. There was a lot to learn as a new mother and depended so much on reassurance and guidance from my amazing and knowledgable pediatrician.
But what happens when you can’t check “yes” on their speech milestones, but your child exceeds their physical and cognitive milestones? My first advice is to rule out any other medical reasons that could affect their speech and language development. Hearing is critical to speech and language development, communication, and learning. Make an appointment with a pediatric ENT to check for any fluid in their ears and get a full audiological exam with an audiologist.
The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) provides these speech, language, and hearing development milestones to serve as a guideline. If your child has not accomplished one skill within an age range does not you’re your child has a disorder. However, if you have answered no to the majority of items in an age group, contact an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist. Words of Wisdom provides full speech and language evaluations for children as young as 14-months old.
One to Two Years
Receptive Language
• Points to few body parts when asked
• Follows simple commands and understands simple questions (“Throw the ball,” “Kiss the baby,” “Where’s your shoe?”)
• Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes
• Points to pictures in a book when named
Speech
• Says more words every month
• Uses some one- or two-word questions (“Where’s Daddy?” “What’s that?”)
• Puts two words together (“more cookie,” “no milk,” “mommy shoe”)
• Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Two to Three Years
Receptive Language
• Understands differences in meaning (“go-stop,” “in-out,” “big-little,” “up-down”)
• Follows two requests (“Get the ball and put it in the toy box”)
• Listens to and enjoys hearing stories for longer periods of time
Speech
• 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
Three to Four Years
Receptive Language
• Understands words for some colors such as red, blue, and green
• Understands words for some shapes such as circle and square
• Understands words for family like brother, grandmother, and aunt
Speech
• Talks about what happened during the day at school or with friends
• 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 such as I, you, me, we, and they
• Uses some plural words such as toys, birds, and buses
• Uses a variety of sentences with 4 or more words
• Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words
Written by By Sofia Tilton, M.S., CCC-SLP Link to original article – Click Here