Speech and Language Guidelines

Some approximate guidelines for a child’s speech and language development:

6 to 12 months

12 to 18 months

Has vocabulary of approximately 5-50 words
Vocabulary made up chiefly of nouns
Some repeating of words or phrases over and over
Jargon such as “Oh dear”, “In the Bin” etc beginning to be used in context
Is able to follow simple commands
Can name a number of objects common to their surroundings
Is able to use at least two prepositions, usually chosen from the following: in, on, under
Combines words into a short sentence-largely noun-verb combinations (mean) length of sentences is given as 1.2 words

18 to 24 months

Approximately 2/3 of what child says should be intelligible
Vocabulary of approximately 150-300 words
Rhythm and fluency often poor
Volume and pitch of voice not yet well-controlled
Can use two pronouns correctly: I, me, you (although me and I are often confused)
My and mine are beginning to emerge
Responds to such commands as “show me your eyes (nose, mouth, hair)”

24 to 36 months

Use pronouns I, you, me correctly
Is using some plurals and past tenses
Knows at least three prepositions, usually in, on, under
Knows chief parts of body and should be able to indicate these if not name
Handles three word sentences easily
Has in the neighborhood of 900-1000 words
About 90% of what child says should be intelligible
Verbs begin to predominate
Understands most simple questions dealing with their environment and activities
Relates their experiences so that they can be followed with reason
Able to reason out such questions as “what must you do when you are sleepy, hungry, cool, or thirsty?”
Should be able to give their sex, name, age
Should not be expected to answer all questions even though he understands what is expected

36 to 48 months

Knows names of familiar animals
Can use at least four prepositions or can demonstrate their understanding of their meaning when given commands
Names common objects in picture books or magazines
Knows one or more colors
Can repeat 4 digits when they are given slowly
Can usually repeat words of four syllables
Demonstrates understanding of over and under
Has most vowels and diphthongs and the consonants p, b, m, w, n well established
Often indulges in make-believe
Extensive verbalization as he carries out activities
Understands such concepts as longer, larger, when a contrast is presented.
Readily follows simple commands even thought the stimulus objects are not in sight
Much repetition of words, phrases, syllables, and even sounds

48 to 60 months

Can use many descriptive words spontaneously-both adjectives and adverbs
Knows common opposites: big/little, hard/soft, heavy/light, etc
Has number concepts of 4 or more
Can count to ten
Speech should be completely intelligible, in spite of some residual articulation problems
Should have all vowels and the consonants: m,p,b,h,w,k,g,t,d,n,ng,y (yellow)
Should be able to repeat sentences as long as nine words
Should be able to define common objects in terms of use (hat, shoe, chair)
Should be able to follow three commands given without interruptions
Should know their age
Should have simple time concepts: morning, afternoon, night, day, later, after, while, tomorrow, yesterday, today
Should be using fairly long sentences and should use some compound and some complex sentences
Speech on the whole should be grammatically correct
In addition to the above consonants these should be mastered: f, v, sh, zh, th
Speech should be completely intelligible and socially useful
Should be able to tell one a rather connected story about a picture, seeing relationships between objects and happenings

ABC Speech Pathology