Stages of Speech and Language Development
Posted on February 13 2012, 3:01:41 PM | Posted by jtcweb
Children with Normal Hearing Ages Birth Through Five Years Old
It has been found that with early detection, appropriate amplification (hearing-aids, FM systems or Cochlear Implants) and educational support, hearing-impaired children can be expected to progress across normal levels of speech and language achievement.
Understanding the stages of speech and language achievement of children with normal hearing can be helpful. With careful consideration, you can obtain a general idea of your child’s level of functioning. This information will help you chart his progress over time, and plan for the future.
Keep in mind that no two children are alike. Every child is an individual. You may find that certain stages of development will overlap, appear out of sequence or never occur. Therefore, focus on your child’s level of functioning and encourage his specific abilities.
Below is a very general overview of speech and language acquisition for normal hearing children through age five. Your child’s “hearing-age” will be determined by the date he was appropriately aided.
Speech and Language Development (Age in Months)
0 - 6
- Attends to facial expressions.
- Makes sucking sounds.
- Cries with varying pitch, length and duration.
- Coos.
- Responds to speech sounds by vocalizing.
- Vocalizes to express joy and anger.
- Responds and vocalizes to name.
- Verbalizes “dada” and “mama” non-meaningfully.
- Babbles “ba.”
7 - 12
- Produces consonants when babbling.
- Babbles with inflection.
- Displays understanding of specific words with gestures.
- Babbles in response to human voice.
- Says “dada” and “mama” meaningfully.
- Babbles with definite inflection.
- Begins single-word sentences.
- Emerging expressive vocabulary 1-3 words.
13 - 18
- Says “no” meaningfully.
- Labels 1-2 familiar objects.
- Combines voice with gestures.
- Spontaneous use of 10-15 words.
- Vocalizes demands, names needed items.
- Jabbers with rhythm during play.
- Uses own name in reference to self.
- Imitates two word phrases.
- Begins singing songs with words.
19 - 24
- Labels pictures.
- Two-word sentences.
- Uses nouns, verbs.
- Shares experiences with jargon and words.
- 65% of speech intelligible.
- Uses three-word utterances.
- Labels up to five pictures.
- Answers questions.
25 - 30
- Uses plurals.
- Refers to self with pronoun.
- Frustrated if not understood.
- Replaces jargon with sentences.
- Vocalizes for all needs.
- States full name.
- Participates in storytelling.
31 - 36
- Recites familiar nursery rhymes.
- Emergence of five-word sentences.
- Relates experiences with short sentences.
- Asks “W” questions: “what,” “where,” “why,” “when”.
- Expressive vocabulary 800+.
37 - 42
- Expressive vocabulary 1000+.
- Turn-taking in conversations beyond a few turns.
- Verbs, “go”, “do” are used meaningfully.
- Multi phrase sentences begin to emerge.
43 - 48
- Initiates singing of familiar songs and nursery rhymes.
- Uses words for feelings (happy, sad, etc.)
- Uses prepositions: “over,” “under,” “above,” “below.”
- Verbs such as “be” and “do”
49 - 54
- Expressive vocabulary 1500+.
- Enjoys playing with words and word sounds.
- Speaks in long sentences.
- Verb and adjectives used in sentences.
56 - 60
- Expressive vocabulary 2000+.
- Sustains a topic in conversation.
- Possessives are used. “That’s mine.” “Here’s yours.”
- Conversation much like adults.
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