Speech and Language Milestones

All Children develop at different rates. However, the following are GENERAL guidelines that children typically reach by the age noted.

A one year old infant typically:

• Enjoys participating in social games such as peek-a-boo and pat-cake

• Recognizes words for common objects

• Listens when spoken to

• Turns towards speaker

• Imitates different speech sounds

• Makes sounds to call for attention

• Uses gestures to communicate (waving to greet, holding arms to be picked up)

• Follows simple 1-step directions ("come here" to "Clap your hands"

• Uses ten words ("baba',for bottle, "Mama"), although they may not be pronounced clearly

• Responds to "give me" while holding an object

• Points to two action words

• Imitates 3 animal sounds

A two year old child typically:

• Identifies a few body parts on themselves or others

• Enjoys songs and rhymes

• Attends to simple stories

• Uses all vowel sounds

• Points to pictures when describes

• Follows 2-step commands ("Get the ball and throw it")

• Understands basic questions ("where's your hat?"

• Asks 1-2 words that represent different ideas together ("More cookie", "Go out", "No juice")

• Has about a 50 word vocabulary

• Understands the concept of "one"

• Uses own name to refer to self

A three year old typically:

• Attends to stories for longer periods of time

• Is understood by familiar listeners 75% of the time

• Requests objects by naming them

• Understands opposites ("go/stop", "in/on", big/little", "up/down")

• Follows three step related directions ("get the crayon, come to the table and color")

• Uses 3 word phrases (on the average) to express wants and needs (i.e., "Baby eat apple")

• Responds to and asks Wh-questions (i.e., who, what, where, when)

• States his or her gender

A four to five year old child typically:

• Recalls events about activities at school or at a friend's house

• Uses sentences that, on the average, have four to five words

• Enjoys playing imaginative play