MilUsually by Are your child’s communication skills developing along expected lines?
The course of children’s development is mapped using a chart of developmental milestones. These milestones are behaviours that emerge over time, forming the building blocks for growth and continued learning. Some of the categories within which these behaviours are seen include:
- Cognition (thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, understanding)
- Motor coordination (gross/fine motor, jumping, hopping, throwing/catching, drawing, stacking)
- Social interaction (initiating peer contact, group play)
- Adaptive (dressing, eating, washing)
As speech and language pathologists we focus on the overall development of the child with a special interest in the development of their communication skills (ie. Speech & Language Development).
INFANT DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
Communication – What might my baby do?
Although communication is often considered to mean words and sentences, it also includes any and all ways that a baby lets us know what they need and how they are feeling. That can be done with facial expression, body language, crying, eye contact or sounds.
The following are guidelines, taken from a number of sources. They will help you know what to expect with your baby’s communication development, and when to consider a referral to a speech and language pathologist. It does not include everything and it is important to remember that there is variation in children’s communication development.
Milestones for your infant at 0-3 months:
- Cries, smiles, coos
- Looks at faces
- Quiets when picked up or comforted (most of the time)
- Listens to voices
Milestones for your infant at 3-6 months:
- Smiles and laughs
- Cries when upset, and looks for comfort (ie: snuggles into your shoulder)
- Shows excitement by waving their arms and legs
- Likes to look at and be near people who are special and significant in their lives
- Can be comforted (most of the time)
Milestones for your infant at 6-9 months:
- Babbles (lots of different, playful sounds) using at least 4 different sounds
- Laughs, giggles, gurgles and coos with familiar people
- Reacts to loud, angry, and friendly voices
- Turns and looks to new sounds
- Makes sounds and babbles to get attention
- Plays games like Peek-a-boo
- May get upset if separated from a familiar person or people
- Responds to their own name
- Taps images of self in mirror
- Loves to watch faces
Milestones for your infant at 9-11 months:
- Tries to imitate sounds or facial movements (lip circle, sticking out tongue, etc.)
- May say “mama” and/or “dada”
- Shouts or vocalises loudly to get attention
- Babbling starts to sound like “real speech” – this is called jargon
- Plays Peek-a-boo
- Repeats a syllable or sequence of sounds often
- Recognises words as symbols for objects: Car – points to garage/road, cat – meows
- Uses smiling and crying to indicate how they are feeling
- Shows affection for special and significant people in their life
- Trusts that their needs will be met (i.e. crying will result in getting fed etc.)
Red Flags
If your baby shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or make a referral to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Poor eye contact
- Few or limited facial expressions
- Little or no sharing or interest in playful interactions with a parent
- Doesn’t respond to their name
- Doesn’t use gestures (pointing, waving, hi or bye, etc.)
- Unusual voice quality or rhythm to their vocalisations
- Doesn’t turn to sounds
- Rarely comforted by their parent’s voice or touch
- Says few sounds
- Doesn’t have a large variety of sounds
- Doesn’t copy sounds, facial expression or simple actions
- Doesn’t let people know they want something using gestures, sounds, pointing or eye contact
If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a speech and language pathologist. You can also refer to our clinic at anytime.
TODDLER DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
Communication – What might my toddler do?
Understanding language is far more important to your toddler than actually speaking it. Once they really understand, they will communicate with you. Your toddler’s first words are almost always labels (ie: names for people, animals) or other things that are important to them.
As a toddler, your child will have a language explosion – they will understand more than they say, but they will imitate everything they hear, learn new words every day, start putting words together into short sentences and want to talk to you all the time!
The following are guidelines, taken from a number of sources. They will help you know what to expect and encourage next with your child’s language development, or when to consider a referral to a speech and language pathologist. It does not include everything and it is important to remember that there is variation in children’s language development. If you have any questions or concerns however, do not hesitate to call a speech and language pathologist.
Milestones for your toddler at 12-18 months:
- Speech: 25% of what a child says at age one should be understood by people other than family members
- Recognises his or her name
- Understands “no”
- Understands simple instructions e.g. give it to me, pick it up
- Points and gestures to call attention to an event or to show what they want
- Imitates (copies) familiar words and actions
- Waves good-bye and plays hand-gesture games/songs e.g. Pat-a-Cake
- Uses “mama” and “dada” and several other words, usually names of objects or people
- Attempts to communicate by mixing jargon with real words (e.g. babbling that sounds like real words)
- Vocalises for enjoyment
- Points to show you something
- Points to a few body parts when asked, ie: “Where’s your mouth?”
- Imitates animal sounds
- Begins to show sense of humour
- Plays best on their own; doesn’t want to share toys with others, shouting “mine, mine!”
Red Flags:
If your 12-18 month old toddler shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Does not respond consistently to their being called by name
- Does not respond to familiar sounds (phone ringing)
- Does not look at or point to objects and pictures when named
- Does not show or give objects spontaneously
- Does not start a turn taking game (i.e. lifts up their blanket for peek-a-boo)
- Does not direct others’ attention to something by pointing or making eye contact
- Does not use consonant + vowel combinations that others recognise as words, even if they are mispronounced
- Has fewer than 10 words
Milestones for your toddler at 18-24 (1½ – 2 years):
- Speech: Children at this age use a limited number of sounds in their words – often these are p, b, t, d, m and w. Children will also often miss the ends off words at this stage. They can usually be understood about 50% of the time by age two by people other than family members. The focus at this stage is on how many words they say, not necessarily how clearly they say them
- Uses 50-200 words by 2 years
- By two using more words than gestures
- Babble short strings which sounds almost like real words and sentences
- Starts to combine two words (e.g. baby sleep, more milk, give me)
- Uses words to make needs and wants known, like “more”, “up”, “juice”
- Imitates sounds and words more clearly
- Non-family members can understand 50% of the child’s speech by 2 years of age
- Points to objects and/or uses gestures to show or direct attention to something
- Points to own toes, eyes and nose
- Brings an object from another room when asked (follows 1-part directions)
- Sings simple songs
- Mixes real words and jargon
- Practices words over and over on their own (e.g. while playing in their bed etc.)
Red Flags:
If your 18-24 month (1½ – 2 year) old toddler shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Does not understand verbal instructions without needing gestures
- Does not copy (imitate) words frequently
- Does not sit for five minutes of book reading
- Does not add gestures if their words are not understood by others
- Does not say at least 20 – 50 words
- Does not say a few 2 – word or 3 – word combinations
Milestones for your toddler at 24-30 months (2 – 2 ½ years):
- Speech: 50% of what a child says at age two should be understood by people other than family members
- Speech sounds: Early sounds that develop include p, b, t, d, m, n, w. It is common to hear many errors in how a child says a word at this age e.g. cat>tat, spider > bider, rabbit>wabbit, sun>dun
- Understands simple questions and commands
- Identifies many body parts
- Carries on “conversation” with self and dolls
- Asks “what’s this?”, “what’s that?”, and “where’s my…”
- Sentence length of 2–3 words ( ie: “more juice” or “want cookie”)
- Names pictures and actions
- Refers to self by name
- Uses 2 – word negative phrases such as “no want”, “not go” or “no right”
- Forms some plurals by adding “s” (e.g. books)
- Asks for a drink or snack
- Has about 200 spoken words in their vocabulary
Red Flags:
If your 24-30 month (2-2 ½ year) old toddler shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Does not follow verbal instructions without needing gestures
- Does not add gestures to help get their meaning across when they have not been understood
- Does not understand more complex sentences (When….then)
- Frequently “echoes” words
- Does not use at least 100 words
- Is not saying some 2 and 3- word combinations
- Language development seems “stuck”
Milestones for your toddler at 30-36 months (2 ½ – 3 years):
- Speech: 75% of what a child says at age three should be understood by people other than family members
- Speech sounds: By age three, 90% of children will be able to make the following sounds; m, n, ng, p, b, t, d, k, g, w, h, s, z, f, v, j, l. They may still have difficulty saying these sounds ch, dg (e.g. giraffe), zh (e.g. measure), sh, r, th. It is common to hear many errors in how a child says a word at this age e.g. cat>tat, banana>nana, rabbit>wabbit, sun>dun
- Uses about 450 words
- Non-family members can understand 75% of the child’s speech by 2 years of age
- Uses 2-4 word sentences
- Can give first name when asked
- Uses past tense (e.g. “ed” endings) and plurals (e.g. “s” endings) (not always correctly)
- Combines names of things with action words ie: baby sleep
- Understand describing words (e.g. Open/close, Wet/dry, Big/little, Same/different)
- Understand place words ( e.g. In/out, On/off, Up/down, Under/over, Top/bottom)
- Understand quantity words (e.g. More/gone, One/lots, Empty/full)
- Understand the function of an object (e.g. “What do we do with a cup?”)
- Have a large noun and verb vocabulary where they can point to a range of pictures
- Understands simple time concepts such as “last night” and “tomorrow”
- Refers to self as “me” or “I” instead of by name
- Uses their words to get adult attention i.e. “Watch me!”
- Likes to hear the same story over and over again
- Uses “no” or “not” in their speech
- Talks to other children as well as adults
- Answers simple “What’s this?”, “What is the baby doing?” and “Where is it?” questions
- Answer “yes” and “no” questions
- Understand gender (e.g. “Is this a boy or a girl?”)
- Uses short sentences to tell what he/she has just done or wants to do ie: “me do it” or “me want to jump”
- Uses “-ing” at the end of action words where appropriate (e.g. running)
- Uses little words like “the”, “a”
- People other than family members can understand 75% of the child’s speech by 3 years of age
- Matches 3-4 colours
- Knows the words “big” and “little”
- Holds up fingers to tell age
Red Flags:
If your 30-36 month (2-2 ½ year) old toddler shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Vocabulary does not seem to be growing
- Not interested in talking with or playing with adults or other children
- Don’t show any pretend play skills (e.g. feeding a doll)
- Not putting words into 2-3 word sentences
- Not matching colors or pictures
- Cannot give their name when asked
- Does not understand the concept of big / little
- Does not use “no” to reject something or protest
- Not using words to get an adult’s attention
If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a speech and language pathologist. You can also refer to our clinic at anytime.
PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
Communication – What might my preschooler do?
This is a time when vocabulary is continually growing and the meaning and sentence structure of their language is becoming more complex. This change in language represents the development of cognitive (thinking) abilities. Preschoolers depend on language to make their wants and needs known, solve problems, ask questions and play with others.
The following are guidelines taken from a number of sources. They will help you know what to expect and encourage next with your child’s language development, or when to consider a referral to a speech and language pathologist. It does not include everything and it is important to remember that there is variation in children’s language development.
Milestones for your preschooler at 3-4 years old:
- Speech: 75% of what a child says at age three & 100% of what a child says at age four should be understood by people other than family members
- Speech sounds: By age four, 90% of children will be able to make the following sounds; m, n, ng, p, b, t, d, k, g, w, h, s, z, f, v, j, l, ch. They may still have difficulty saying these sounds; dg (e.g. giraffe), zh (e.g. measure), sh, r, th. It is common to hear some errors in how a child says a word at this age e.g. omitting one sound from a cluster of sounds (string>sting), replacing ‘r’ or ‘l’ with a ‘w’ or ‘y’ (e.g. red>wed, yellow>yeyow)
- Enjoys books, simple songs, nursery rhymes, silly words, and stories
- Has a vocabulary of nearly 1000 words
- Most of what they say can be understood
- Puts words together to form 3-5 word sentences
- Asks and answers “who”, “what”, and “where” questions
- Asks LOTS of questions
- Likes to talk and have conversations with people
- Can tell a story
- Uses grammar appropriately most of the time
- Uses pronouns “I”, “you” and “me”
- Knows their name, gender, street name, and a number of nursery rhymes
- Knows some prepositions (position words) such as in, on, and under
- Understands negatives e.g. Show me the girl who is not sleeping
- Often makes mistakes with negatives and use “double negatives” ie: “I don’t not want to go”
- Follows a 3 part command e.g. put the block under the chair (where there are different choices for the objects block & chair)
- Understands “yesterday,” “summer”, “lunchtime”, “tonight”, “little-big”
- Begins to recognise some letters and words (e.g. recognises “stop” sign, the “M” for McDonalds, etc.)
- Sorts (match) objects by: function (find something you play with, wear, etc); size (big, little) or familiar colours.
- Identifies 2-3 colours. Can point to 2-3 different colours when a selection of different coloured balls are placed in front of them
- Names at least one colour
- Is developing number concepts – can give you 1, more, or all of something
- Counts objects, even if they don’t have all the numbers correct.
Red Flags:
If your 3-4 year old preschooler shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Little interest in talking to adults or children
- Sentences are not growing in length or complexity
- Poor sorting or matching skills
- Difficulty answering questions: what, what-doing, where
- Not asking who, what, or where questions
- Not easily understood by family members or familiar people in their life
Milestones to watch for with your preschooler at 4-5 years old:
- Speech: 100% of what a child says at age four should be understood by people other than family members
- Speech sounds: By age four, 90% of children will be able to make the following sounds; m, n, ng, p, b, t, d, k, g, w, h, s, z, f, v, j, l, ch. They should be developing saying dg (e.g. giraffe), zh (e.g. measure) and may still have difficulty saying sh, r, th’. There should be few errors in how a child says a word at this age but they may still replace ‘r’ or ‘l’ with a ‘w’ or ‘y’ (e.g. red>wed, yellow>yeyow)
- Continues to learn lots of new words very quicklyUses vocabulary of 1500-2000 words but can understand many more than that
- Uses sentences of 5-8 words
- Uses joining words such as “if”, “so”, “but”
- Talks a lot and about everything they are doing or thinking
- Tells long stories about own personal experiences
- Beginning to understand comparatives (e.g. “this one is big, and this one is bigger”)
- Understand place words (e.g. “between”, “above/below”, “middle”, “first/next/last”)
- Understand difference between day and night
- Asks “who” and “why” questions & is interested in explanations for their “how” and “why” questions
- Beginning to understand “when” questions
- Uses past, present and future tense, mostly, but not always, correctly
- Interested in written words, letters and numbers
- Matches and sorts objects in a large variety of ways
- Understands prepositions (e.g. beside, behind, in front)
- Repeats days of the week in sequence
- Identify the odd one out from a group of three items
- Tells a long story in sequence, but may not stick to the same idea throughout the story
Red Flags:
If your 4-5 year old preschooler shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Not easily understood by others
- Difficulty putting sentences together
- Lots of grammatical difficulties in their sentences
- Difficulties with concepts such as prepositions (position words such as behind, beside, etc.) colours, size and categories.
- Doesn’t ask questions
- Doesn’t follow verbal directions
If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a speech and language pathologist. You can also refer to our clinic at anytime.
SCHOOL AGE DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
Communication – What might my school aged child do?
This is a time when vocabulary is growing further and the complexity of their sentence structures and story telling is becoming more complex. This change in language represents the development of cognitive (thinking) abilities. School aged children rely on their oral language skills to access the school curriculum. There is a strong correlation between poor oral language skills and difficulties developing literacy skills.
The following are guidelines taken from a number of sources. They will help you know what to expect and encourage next with your child’s language development, or when to consider a referral to a speech and language pathologist. It does not include everything and it is important to remember that there is variation in children’s language development.
Milestones to watch for with your school-aged child 5-6 years old:
- Speech: 100% of what a child says should be understood by people other than family members
- Speech sounds: By age six, 90% of children will be able to make the following sounds; m, n, ng, p, b, t, d, k, g, w, h, s, z, f, v, j, l, ch, dg (e.g. giraffe), zh (e.g. measure), sh. They should be developing saying ‘r’ and may still have difficulty saying ‘th’.
- Has a sentence length of 5-6 words
- Has a vocabulary of around 2000 words
- Using all pronouns correctly (“he/she”, “his/her”, “himself/herself”, “me”, “mine”, “I” etc)
- Names days of the week in order
- Tells a long story maintaining theme and sequence
- Grammar is mostly correct
- By 6yrs of age able to identify and label a number of alphabet letters
- Can Identify similarities and differences in objects
- Defines objects by their use (you eat with a fork) and can tell what objects are made of
- Knows spatial relations like “on top”, “behind”, “far” and “near”
- Knows own address
- Knows common opposites like “big/little”
- Understands “same” and “different”
- Counts ten objects
- Asks questions for information
- Distinguishes left and right hand
- Uses all types of sentences, for example “let’s go to the store after we eat”
- Understand time concepts such as “morning/afternoon”, “yesterday/tomorrow”, “before/after”, “now/later”
- Understands and responds to “when” questions
- By 6 years of age knows “right” from “left”
Red Flags:
If your 5-6 year old child shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Not easily understood by others
- Has trouble finding the right words (words may seem to be on the ‘tip of their tongue’ and they use non descript language e.g. um, thingy)
- Difficulty putting sentences together
- Unable to produce a clear story that is easy to follow
- Lots of grammatical difficulties in their sentences
- Has difficulty formulating questions, or initiating conversation with others
- Difficulties with concepts such as prepositions (position words such as behind, beside, etc.) colours, size and categories.
- Doesn’t ask questions
- Doesn’t follow verbal directions
- Relies on watching peers to follow instructions
- Has difficulty socialising with peers
- Difficulty expressing thoughts or ideas clearly and succinctly
- Very brief or incomplete written work
Milestones to watch for with your school-aged 8 year old child:
Usually by 8 years old, children will be able to:
- Use language to predict and draw conclusions
- Use long and complex sentences
- Understand other points of view and show that they agree or disagree
- Understand comparative words e.g. ‘it was earlier than yesterday’
- Keep a conversation going by giving reasons and explaining choices
- Start conversations with adults and children they don’t know
- Understand and use passive sentences e.g. “the thief is chased by the policeman”
Red Flags:
If your 8 year old child shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- They may struggle to join in group conversations. This is because there is too much language
- They may find it hard to make up stories. This will show in their written work as well as talking
- Their stories may be muddled, making them difficult to follow
- They may find it hard to learn and understand the meanings of words
- They may struggle to understand language about things in the past or future
- They may find it hard to make predictions
- They may find it difficult to understand language where the meaning isn’t clearly stated
- They may be struggling to learn at school. They could find it hard to understand what it is they are supposed to be doing, even though they have been told
If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a speech and language pathologist. You can also refer to our clinic at anytime.
HIGH SCHOOL-AGED DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
Communication – What might my high school-aged child do?
Language is an integral part of being able to learn. So much of what students are taught is delivered through oral and written means. Students with weaknesses in their language skills typically have weaknesses in their learning.
Older students who had language difficulties when they were younger may again have difficulties in the later school years as the complexity of language used increases. Other students may have language difficulties that only become apparent as the language demands increase.
The following are guidelines taken from a number of sources. They will help you know what to expect and encourage next with your child’s language development, or when to consider a referral to a speech and language pathologist. It does not include everything and it is important to remember that there is variation in children’s language development.
Red Flags:
If your high school-aged child shows two or more of the following, contact the clinic or refer to a speech and language pathologist to ensure your child is not having difficulties with developing communication skills:
- Poor comprehension of what they hear or read
- May be able to answer simple comprehension questions but have difficulty inferring details or ‘read between the lines’
- Difficulty expressing thoughts or ideas clearly and succinctly
- Reduced vocabulary
- Needs repetition to learn new concepts (particularly in maths and science)
- Difficulties interpreting exam questions or assignments
- Poor written language skills – writing essays and answering
- Social difficulties – keeping up with peers conversations especially in large groups, interpreting humour (jokes, sarcasm)
- Reluctant to write
- Tries hard but has difficulties thinking of content, researching, planning and executing a task
- Difficulties with spelling
- Have difficulty giving specific answers or explanations
- Have difficulty sequencing their ideas in the right order
- Are better at understanding individual instructions than group instructions
- Find it difficult to understand language where the meaning isn’t clearly stated
- Find long and complicated instructions hard to understand
- Have trouble learning new words
- Take a long time to organise what they are going to say or write
- Take things too literally. For example “I’ll be back in a minute”
- Have difficulty taking turns in conversations
- Talk to teachers and friends in the same way
If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a speech and language pathologist. You can also refer to our clinic at anytime.