Developmental Milestones Related to Speech-Language Pathology
Birth-3 Months:
- Makes cooing sounds
- Cries change for different needs
- Startles at loud sounds
- Quiets or smiles when someone talks
4 to 6 Months:
- Moves eyes in direction of sounds
- Responds to changes in tone of voice
- Notices that toys make sounds
- Pays attention to music
- Coos or babbles when playing
- Giggles or laughs
- Makes sounds when happy or upset
7 months – 1 year:
- Looks when someone points
- Turns when their name is called
- Understands words for common items and people
- Starts to respond to simple words (i.e. no, come here)
- Uses sounds and gestures to get and keep attention
- Points to objects and shows them to others
- Uses gestures like waving by or shaking head no
- Says one or two words
- Babbles longer strings of sounds (like mimi, upup, or baba)
1 – 2 years:
- Points to a few body parts when asked
- Follows 1-part directions (i.e. “roll ball”)
- Responds to simple questions (i.e. “who is that?”)
- Points to pictures in a book when named
- Uses a lot of novel words
- Starts to name pictures in books
- Asks simple questions (“what’s that?” or “where is kitty?”)
- Puts two words together (“no bed” or “mommy book”)
- Child is approximately 25% intelligible
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2-3 years:
- Understands opposites (i.e. go/stop or up/down)
- Follows 2-part directions (i.e. “get the spoon and put it on the table”)
- Understands new words quickly
- Talks about things that are not in the room
- Uses words like “in” “on” and “under”
- Uses 2 or 3 words to talk about or ask for things
- Asks “why?”
- Starts to use a variety of speech sounds including p, b, m, d, n, h, t, k, g, w, ng, f, and y in words
- Familiar people understand the child’s speech (50-75% intelligible)
2-3 years:
- Understands opposites (i.e. go/stop or up/down)
- Follows 2-part directions (i.e. “get the spoon and put it on the table”)
- Understands new words quickly
- Talks about things that are not in the room
- Uses words like “in” “on” and “under”
- Uses 2 or 3 words to talk about or ask for things
- Asks “why?”
- Starts to use a variety of speech sounds including p, b, m, d, n, h, t, k, g, w, ng, f, and y in words
- Familiar people understand the child’s speech (50-75% intelligible)
4-5 years:
- Understands word for order and time, like first/last and today/tomorrow
- Follows longer directions (ex: “put on your pajamas, brush your teeth and pick out a book”)
- Follows classroom directions (ex: draw a circle around something you can eat”)
- Hears and understands most things at home and school
- Uses sentences that have more than 1 action word
- Tells a short story
- Keeps a conversation going
- Uses all earlier sounds and is begining to use the sounds r, zh, and voiced th (ex: their)
5-6 years:
- Listens to, and understands, stories
- Follows a simple conversation
- Answers questions like “what did you have for lunch today?”
- Retells a story or talks about something they did
- Takes turns talking and keeping a conversation going
- Should have all speech sounds mastered in words with the exception of voiceless th (ex: thumb)
- Knows how books work
- Understands that sounds make up words
- Tells you the first sounds of a word
- Can say the sounds some letters make (ex: buh for B)
- Knows some sight words
- “Reads” a few books by memory
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6-7 years:
- Follows 2 – 3 step directions in a row
- Tells and retells stories that make sense
- Uses most parts of speech, or grammar, correctly
- Stays on topic and takes turns in conversation
- Gives directions
- Can clearly be understood by others
- Names all sounds in short words
- Matches spoken words with written words
- Sounds out words when reading
- Reads 100 common words by sight
- Reads grade-level books
- Understands what they read
7-8 years:
- Follows 3-4 directions in a row
- Understands direction words, like here, there, over, and next to
- Asks and answers who, what, where, when and why questions
- Gives directions with 3-4 steps
- Stays on topic, maintains eye contact and starts/ends conversations
- Uses clues when reading to figure out words (looking at pictures or titles to help read a word)
- Finds information to answer questions
- Explains important points of a story (ex: main idea, characters, and plot)
8-9 years:
- Pays attention in groups
- Uses words related to school subjects (math, science, history vocabulary)
- Participates in a group conversation
- Summarizes a story
- Uses word analysis skills (knowing root words, prefixes and suffixes)
- Uses clues from story to help understand what they read
- Predict and explain what will happen next in a story
- Asks and answers questions about what they have read
- Uses what they know to learn about new topics
9-10 years:
- Forms opinions based on what they hear
- Uses language for many reasons (asking questions, arguing, joking)
- Understands some figurative language (ex: “this class is a zoo!”)
- Takes part in group discussions
- Summarizes ideas in their own words
- Organizes information so it is clear
- Gives clear speeches
- Follows written directions
- Takes brief notes
- Links what they learn from one subject to another
- Paraphrases what they read in their own words
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