"Is My Child Behind?": 1 to 4 years old

Do you wonder if your toddler is developing normally?  Lots of parents ask me if their child is behind in speech or language, and the answer is never very clear-cut.  I took these charts from the ASHA (American Speech-Language Hearing Association) website asha.org and compiled them into one place for your reference.  Take a look and see if these confirm your concerns or if your child is doing pretty well for their age.  If you're still worried it's a good idea to consult a professional.  In the meantime you can try to implement some language-enhancing strategies.

1 to 2 years

Hearing and Understanding	Talking
Points to a few body parts when asked. Follows simple commands and understands simple questions ("Roll the ball," "Kiss the baby," "Where's your shoe?"). Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes. Points to pictures in a book when named.	Says more words every month. Uses some one- or two- word questions ("Where kitty?" "Go bye-bye?" "What's that?"). Puts two words together ("more cookie," "no juice," "mommy book"). Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

2 to 3 years

Hearing and Understanding	Talking
Understands differences in meaning ("go-stop," "in-on," "big-little," "up-down"). Follows two requests ("Get the book and put it on the table"). Listens to and enjoys hearing stories for longer periods of time	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.

3 to 4 years

Hearing and Understanding	Talking
Hears you when you call from another room. Hears television or radio at the same loudness level as other family members. Answers simple "who?", "what?", "where?", and "why?" questions.	Talks about activities at school or at friends' homes. People outside of the family usually understand child's speech. Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words. Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words.

You Caught Me Chart

One of the greatest concepts I learned in grad school came from my fluency professor.  She was explaining how difficult it can be to raise a child's awareness of their own speech.  Sometimes they just don't listen to themselves, and they have to listen to themselves before they can fix their errors.  But before they learn to listen to themselves, they have to learn how to listen to other people's speech.  Thus the concept of a "You Caught Me" chart.  It works best with younger kids, like ages 3-8ish.

First, introduce the child to the chart:
"Hey, Josh/Kyle/Emily/whatever the kid's name is, sometimes I make mistakes while I'm talking too.  If you catch me making a mistake, say, "I caught you!"  Then we can draw a smiley face in the chart.  If you catch me FOUR times, then you get a prize!"

It's usually very motivating and exciting for these kids.  They kind of feel like they're the speech teacher, and what's not fun about that?!?  At first they may not notice any of your errors.  You might have to correct yourself for a while:  "Oops.  I forgot to say my /s/ sound.  Let me try that again.  Ssssstop."  Eventually they will start to notice something is wrong, but not be able to explain it.  That's ok!  It's a good start.  Pretty soon, they should be able to catch your errors 100% of the time and be able to explain what you did wrong 100% of the time.  Now you're one step closer to having that child identify their own errors.

 It's simple.  It's genius, and here's one for you if you want it.
It's basic and to-the-point.  Just laminate it or put it in a page protector so you can re-use it.

Speech Sounds by Age

Concerned about your child's speech? Do you worry that they can't say their R sound? Their L sound? I'm hoping that this post will help answer some of those common questions. They vary a little bit based on the research studies that have been done, but here are the general guidelines:

Age 3: all vowels, p, m, n, w, h

Age 4: b, d, g, k, ng, f, y

Age 5: (all above sounds)

Age 6: l

Age 7: r, ch, sh, z, th

You can find many different charts around the wonderful world wide web that show you visually the different ages and sounds to look for. Find some here, here, and here. Or just google "sound acquisition charts" and see what comes up.