4-5 Years
Receptive Skills
Understands most of what is said or signed at home and school
Pays attention to short stories
Enjoys stories and can understand simple questions
Carries out 4 simple related commands in order
Understands categories (things that fly, things you eat, things you wear)
Understands time concepts (morning, afternoon, night) and seasons of the year
Understands words that rhyme
Points to or places objects before, after, above, below something when asked
Comprehends complex directions about pictures (point to the little girl with red hair and no shoes)
Follows directions using a variety of prepositions
Answers "What happened? Why"
Sequences smallest to largest, shortest to tallest
Identifies items that don't belong
ASL
Distinguishes double movement nouns from single movement verbs (CHAIR-SIT, AIRPLANE, FLYING)
Understands handshape categories (F: BUTTON, FOX, CAT)
Spoken English
Comprehends irreversible passives (The ball was kicked by a boy.)
Understands over 13,000 spoken words
Expressive Skills
Uses 2,500+ words
Uses 5+ word sentences with details.
Signs or speaks clearly and fluently in an easy to understand manner
Begins to ask the meanings of words
Can tell made-up stories that stay on topic
Uses rhyming in words or signs
Identifies some written letters and numbers
Uses 'before' and 'after'
Asks 'who,' 'what,' 'where, 'why' and 'how' questions
Answers 'how' and why' questions
Speaks or signs with emotion and body language when describing and event or action
Ends conversations appropriately
Uses 'if/then' sentences
Names categories of items
Tells a story including a beginning, middle and end
Uses expanded sentences involving two traits (Mother bear - big, mean)
Shows the ability to think about and comment on language
ASL
Uses space as part of storytelling
Uses number distribution (Ex: talking about leaves falling - ONE LEAF FALLS, MANY LEAVES FALL, LEAVES FALL RANDOMLY FROM TIME TO TIME)
Uses 5 ASL parameters of handshape (palm orientation, location, movement, and facial expression)
Repeats WH-word expressions at the beginning and end of a question (WHO GO WHO) [WH-bracketing]
Uses the AGENT sign (FARM-ER, TEACH-ER)
Uses topic continuation (holds a sign with one hand and continues signing with the other)
Uses body shirt and eye-gaze
Uses space to describe spatial concepts and relationship to objects (The cat was under the table. The ball is in front of the chair.)
Uses conditional sentences (SUPPOSE TEACHER SICK - CLASS NONE)
Uses time indicators (FINISH, NOT-YET)
Storytelling includes setting up people and objects in space that are not present
Verb modifications show intensity distribution and temporal aspect
Uses noun modification to indicate spatial agreement
Spoken English
Most sounds are pronounced correctly though the child may have difficulty with 'r,' 'v,' and 'th'
Uses 'has,' 'does,' and 'had'
Uses clauses (because, when, if, and, so)
Uses 'these' and 'those'
Uses past and future tense
Uses many frequently occurring prepositions (to, from, in, out, an, off, for, of, by, with)
Uses irregular third person singular
Asks negative tag questions (We got that, didn't we?)
Uses copula and auxiliary forms
Social Communication
Changes topic appropriately
Politely interrupts adult conversations
Initiates conversations easily
Communicates about imaginary conditions (What if... I hope)
Uses words to invite others to play
Uses language to resolve disputes with peers (sometimes involving adults)
States name of own town
Tells month of birth
Tells father's and mother's names
Begins to engage in humor
Begins to understand others points of view
Sequences stories