Parents are often the first adults to notice a possible delay in their child's speech or language development. Your child's speech may not be clear. Or, your child may use shorter sentences than other children the same age This observation generally leads to three questions:
Is my child's speech or language delayed?
Speech skills are different from language skills. Language refers to the use of words and sentences to convey ideas. Speech is the production of sounds that make up the words and sentences.
Using developmental milestones, such as those listed below, you can compare your child's development with that of other children the same age. Read the description and ask yourself the questions listed. You can get an idea if your child's communication skills are about the same, higher than, or lower than expected.
Use caution when applying any measure of development to your child. Individual differences or special circumstances need to be accounted for. This can be done by consulting with your school's speech and language clinician or by checking with your local speech and hearing clinic.
Milestones of Speech and Language Development
• One-year-old children should be able to understand a variety of words and should be using a few single words.
• By age two, words should be combined into two-and three-word phrases and sentences.
• Between the ages of three and five, children learn to carry on a conversation, ask and answer questions, follow and give directions, and speak alone in the presence of a group. These skills are important to success in kindergarten.
• After age five, sentences become increasingly complex. Children begin using words like "when," "while," and "since" to relate two or more ideas in a single sentence The language level used by teachers and textbooks assumes that children have this skill by the age of seven or eight.
As a rule, children use understandable speech by age four and use all speech sounds correctly by age five to seven.
At what point should I be concerned about my child's development?
Both social and academic success depend on well-developed speech and language skills. Your child may be having difficulty developing these skills if:
1. Your child has experienced ear infections or an unusually long stay (six months or more) in the hospital.
2. The child is not understood by playmates or others outside the immediate family.
3. The child is frustrated when trying to communicate and the situation does not improve over a one- or two-month period.
4. There is a delay of one year or more in developing speech and language skills. For example, here is a sample of abnormal language development (compiled by Beth Witt):
Three-year-old:
• Says only one or two words at a time
• Cannot answer "what" or "who" questions.
• Speech is not comprehensible except in context.
• Does not seem to hear or understand all that is said; seems to "tune out" what others say.
• Does not start conversations. Speaks only when spoken to.
• Does not understand spoken directions without visual assistance from pointing and other gestures.
• Repeats what others say rather than responding.
Four-year-old:
• Talks in only two- or three-word phrases. Word order is poor.
• Cannot answer simple "what," "where," or "why" questions.
