Speech and Language Milestones

There are certain speech and language milestones that we can watch for which help us know how children are developing. This guideline represents typical speech and language development, but each child develops skills at their own rate. Some children Speech and language problems can lead to difficulty with making friends and learning. If you find that your child is not reaching their speech and language milestones, it may be a good idea to have them evaluated by a Speech-language pathologist.

0-3 Months

Speech:

• Child should produce grunts, crying and coos

Language:

• Child should recognize and respond to caregivers voice
• Smile when you speak to them

4-6 Months

Speech:

• Child should coo and babble (baba, dada)

Language: 

• Child should respond to tone of voice, sounds, and ‘no’.

7-12 Months

Speech:

• Child should babble with a variety of consonants and vowels (ba, ba, na, ma)

Language:

• Child should listen when spoken to
• Look when called by name
• Play simple games (peek-a-boo)
• Respond to ‘come here’
• Recognize familiar words for people and objects
• Point to and shows objects
• Use gestures like waving ‘bye’ or reaching for ‘up’
• Says 1-2 words (hi, dada, mama, uh-oh)

1-2 years

Speech:

• Child should produce consonants (w, h, p, b, m, d, n)
• Speech is understood 25% of the time

Language:

• Child should point to pictures and some body parts
• Like to have the same story read
• Name pictures in books
• Respond to and asks simple questions (‘what’s that?’, ‘where’s kitty?’)
• Say 50-100 words

2-3 years

Speech:

• is understood 50-75% for familiar people and 50% for unfamiliar

Language:

• Follow simple directions
• Say 200-300 words
• Ask ‘why?’
• Use 2 words together

3-4 years

Speech:

• Produce consonants (t, k, g, f, s)
• Speech is understood 75-100% for familiar people and 75% for unfamiliar

Language:

• Understand some words for colors and shapes
• Follows 2 step directions
• Listens to stories and songs
• Answers what, who, where questions
• Uses pronouns (I, me, we, they)
• Uses 3-5 words together

4-5 years

Speech is understood 100% for everyone

Language: 

• Understands words for order; first, next, and last
• Understand words for time; today, yesterday, and tomorrow
• Follows multi step directions
• Understands most of spoken language
• Names letters and numbers
• Uses 4-6 words in sentences
• Tells a short story
• Can participate in a conversation

5 years

Speech:

• Produces most speech sounds accurately (v, sh, ch, j, l, r, th)

Language:

• Understands when and why questions
• Uses correct grammar

Based on your child’s age, are they meeting their speech and language milestones? If you are concerned or want a professional’s opinion, feel free to contact us to ask some questions. We offer free 15 minute screenings, tours of our clinic, evaluations (we accept most insurance networks) to see if speech is recommended. Email at [email protected]