Speech Sounds

(Articulation)

Vocabulary & Basic Concepts

Hearing and Understanding
(Receptive Language)

Verbal Language (Expressive Language)

0-6 month

·coos

·produces some sounds

·startles or cries at loud noises

·listens to speech

·turns head toward sounds

·responds to “no” and his/her name

·uses cries, sounds and/or

gestures to indicate wants

·repeats same sounds often

7-12 month

·babbles using a variety of sounds (e.g. baba, dada) and imitates inflection patterns

·likes to make the sounds of familiar animals and noises

·recognizes words for common objects (e.g. cup, shoe, juice)

·responds to own name

·responds to simple requests

·understands “no”

·listens when spoken to

·begins to use jargon (babbling that sounds like real talking)

·uses speech intentionally for the first time

·uses gestures to communicate

(waving bye, pointing)

13-18month

·speech is difficult to understand

·omits some beginning & most ending consonant sounds (e.g. “_at” for “cat”)

·uses 3-20 words, primarily nouns

·recognizes pictures of familiar persons

·follows simple commands (e.g. “come here”)

·responds to simple questions through use of gesture (e.g. head shake/nod, pointing)

·enjoys imitating sound

·expresses wants by using gestures and vocalizations

19-24 month

·speech is understood 25-50% of the time

·uses 50-100 + words

·understands 300+ words

·knows 5 body parts

·answers “What’s that?”

·enjoys listening to stories

·follows two-step commands (e.g. “get the ball and put it on the table”)

·uses 2-word phrases (e.g. more cookie”)

·pronouns emerge (e.g. mine, me)

·uses at least 15 words

·asks questions (e.g. “Go bye-bye?” “Where mommy?)

2-3years

·speech is understood 50-70% of the time

·uses consonant (p, b, m, n, h, w) correctly

·uses vowels correctly

·uses beginning consonants, although may not be clear

·frequently omits middle and final consonants or substitutes ending consonants (e.g. “dod” for “dog”)

·uses 50-250+ words

·understands 500-900+ words

·understands concepts such as one/all and on/off

·continues to notice environmental sounds (e.g. telephone, doorbell)

·able to identify objects/pictures in books

·answers simple questions

·understands most things which are said to him/her

·uses 200-300 words

·uses 3 to 4-word phrases

·asks questions (e.g. why and what)

·uses some pronouns, past tense verbs, and possessives

(e.g. he, walked, baby’s)

·uses the verb “is” and its contracted form (e.g., “It is mine.”)

3-4

years

·speech sounds are  80% intelligible

·understands 800-1500 words

·concepts such as size and time

·follows 3-step directions

·answers “wh” questions

·asks “wh” questions

·consistently uses: plurals, possessives, verbs

4-5

years

·speech can be understood majority of the time

·uses 1000-2000 words

·understands 2800+ words

·answers questions regarding object function (“what do you do with a spoon?”)

·answers complex “wh” questions

·communicates easily with peers and adults

·uses 8-10 word sentences

·uses grammatically correct sentences