Pediatric Developmental Milestones for Speech and Language

Typical Development	Communication Problems
Ages 2 - 3 years Has a sentence length of 2 -3 words ID Body Parts Asks/Answers "what/where" questions Uses 2-word negative phrases such as "no want" Forms some plurals (ex. books) Has 450 word vocabulary Combines nouns and verbs "mommy go" Understands simple time concepts: "last night", "tomorrow" Talks to other children as well as adults Speech Sound Acquisition: m, n, h, w, p, b, f, k, g, t, d	Communication Problems 2 - 3 year olds: Hearing difficulties Problems following directions Poor vocabulary acquisition Speech dysfluencies (difficulty initiating or sustaining sounds ex. b-b-b-ball) Delayed acquisition of phrasing skills Unclear speech
Ages 4 - 5 years Has sentence length of 4-5 words Uses past tense correctly Has a vocabulary of nearly 1500 words Points to colors red, blue, yellow and green Identifies triangles, circles, and squares Understands "in the morning" "next" Uses imagination Asks many questions, asks "who?" and "why?" Speech Sound Acquisition: -ing, y, th, sh, ch, l, v	Communication Problems Ages 4 - 5 year olds: Difficulty with conversational turn-taking Poor vocabulary acquisition Difficulty learning preschool concepts (ex. colors, counting) Stuttering Poor grammar Unclear Speech
Ages 5 - 6 years Has a sentence length of 5-6 words Has a vocabulary of aprox. 2000 words Describes objects/event and defines meaning of words Recalls events and tells long stories accurately Understands spatial concepts such as: "on top" "behind" "far" and "near" Asks questions to gain information Uses adult like grammar and speech	Communication Problems ages 6 and over: Difficulty with attention, following complex/compound directions Difficulty retaining information Poor vocabulary acquisition Difficulties with grammar Difficulties with organization of expressive language or narratives Difficulties with reading/writing Unclear speech Persistent stuttering or a lisp Voice-quality abnormalities such as strained/hoarse sounding voice.