We have put together a table of communication milestones which allows you to check what is expected at your child’s age.
Select Age
By the age of 2
Children should have the following speech and language skills
Articulation
- Speech can be understood 50% of the time
- Can say ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘h’, ‘m’, ‘n’, and ‘p’ sounds
Expressive language
- Uses 200-300 different words
Receptive language
- Regularly uses 2 words together in short sentences eg. “Mummy car”
Literacy
- Enjoys shared book reading
- Learns to distinguish between pictures and text
Social communication
- Begins to use words more often than gestures to communicate
- Uses words to answer and ask questions
- Child’s play consists of repetitive movements with/without objects
Stuttering
- Stuttering is not a typical aspect of speech development
- If you believe your child may have a stutter, it is advised that you consult with a Speech Pathologist as early as possible
- Signs of stuttering include word or sound repetitions e.g. “b-b-but” or “the the the”, prolongations e.g. “So weeee went…” or blocks where the individual struggles to get the sound out
By the age of 3
children should have the following speech and language skills in addition to those listed above for earlier ages
Articulation
- Speech can be understood 75% of the time
- Can say ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘h’, ‘m’, ‘n’, ‘p’, ‘f’, ‘g’, ‘k’, ‘t’ ‘y’ and ‘w’ sounds
Expressive language
- Asks questions using ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’ and ‘why’
- Uses location words including ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘under’
- Uses ‘ing’ verbs and plurals eg. ‘two dogs’
Receptive language
- Understands questions including ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’ and ‘why’
- Understands location words including ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘under’
- Follows 2 step instructions
- Identifies most body parts and clothing items
Literacy
- Begins to become aware of rhyming words
- Learns the alphabet song
- Learns left-right manner of reading
Social Communication
- Can stay on topic in conversation around 50% of the time
- Plays alongside other children and begins to interact with others during play
- Expresses needs/wants through words
- Begins taking turns in play
- Child’s play consists of repetitive movements with/without objects
Stuttering
- Stuttering is not a typical aspect of speech development
- If you believe your child may have a stutter, it is advised that you consult with a Speech Pathologist as early as possible
- Signs of stuttering include word or sound repetitions e.g. “b-b-but” or “the the the”, prolongations e.g. “So weeee went…” or blocks where the individual struggles to get the sound out
By the age of 4
children should have the following speech and language skills in addition to those listed above for earlier ages
Articulation
- Speech can be understood 100% of the time
- Can say ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘h’, ‘m’, ‘n’, ‘p’, ‘f’, ‘g’, ‘k’, ‘t’, ’y’, ‘w’ , ‘sh’ and ‘ch’ sounds
- May still have difficulty producing ‘s’, ‘r’, ‘l’ and ‘th’ sounds
Expressive language
- Uses ‘when’ and ‘how’ questions
- Uses basic size description words ‘big’ and ‘small’
- Forms long sentences using ‘and’/‘because’
- Begins to use numbers for counting
Receptive language
- Understands basic colour words
- Understands ‘when’ and ‘how’ questions
- Understands basic size concepts ‘big’ and ‘small’
- Begins to understand numbers and counting
- Follows 2 step instructions
- Identifies most body parts and clothing items
Literacy
- Can segment words into syllables
- Learns left-right manner of reading
Social Communication
- Maintains conversation for extended periods
- Recounts past events
- Interacts with other children during play
- Play becomes imaginative
Stuttering
- Stuttering is not a typical aspect of speech development
- If you believe your child may have a stutter, it is advised that you consult with a Speech Pathologist as early as possible
- Signs of stuttering include word or sound repetitions e.g. “b-b-but” or “the the the”, prolongations e.g. “So weeee went…” or blocks where the individual struggles to get the sound out
By the age of 5
children should have the following speech and language skills in addition to those listed above for earlier ages
Articulation
- Can say ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘h’, ‘m’, ‘n’, ‘p’, ‘f’, ‘g’, ‘k’, ‘t’, ‘w’, ‘ch’, ‘j’, ‘l’, ‘s’, ‘sh’, ‘y’ ‘ng’ and z’ sounds
Expressive language
- Forms long sentences using ‘when’, ‘so’, ‘because’, ‘if’
Receptive language
- Follows longer and more complex instructions
Literacy
- Begins to learn letter names
- Begins to learn letter sounds
Social Communication
- Can make requests for clarification in conversation
- Interacts with other children during play
- Play becomes imaginative
Stuttering
- Stuttering is not a typical aspect of speech development
- If you believe your child may have a stutter, it is advised that you consult with a Speech Pathologist as early as possible
- Signs of stuttering include word or sound repetitions e.g. “b-b-but” or “the the the”, prolongations e.g. “So weeee went…” or blocks where the individual struggles to get the sound out
By the age of 6
children should have the following speech and language skills in addition to those listed above for earlier ages
Articulation
- Develops correct pronunciation of ‘r’ and ‘v’ sounds
Expressive language
- Tells stories with a problem, series of events and conclusion
Receptive language
- Follows multistep directions
- Understands longer and more complex sentences
Literacy
- Can segment words into their component sounds e.g. ‘cat’ = c-a-t
- Learns all letter names and letter sounds
- Learns to write letters
Social Communication
- Communicates with both children and adults easily
Stuttering
- Stuttering is not a typical aspect of speech development
- If you believe your child may have a stutter, it is advised that you consult with a Speech Pathologist as early as possible
- Signs of stuttering include word or sound repetitions e.g. “b-b-but” or “the the the”, prolongations e.g. “So weeee went…” or blocks where the individual struggles to get the sound out
By the age of 7
children should have the following speech and language skills in addition to those listed above for earlier ages
Articulation
- Most children have acquired all speech sounds
- Can say blend sounds such as ‘sl’ as in ‘slice’ or ‘br’ as in ‘brush’
Expressive language
- Uses irregular plurals e.g. ‘mice’ and irregular past tense words e.g. ‘threw’
Receptive language
- Understands sequence words including ‘first’, ‘second’ etc
Literacy
- Can identify the first sound in a word
- Can list words that start with the same sound
- Can recognise and produce rhyme
- Learns to sound out words
- Learns some words by sight
Social Communication
- Improved ability to understand perspectives of others
- Understands the rules of conversation and both talks and listens appropriately
Stuttering
- Stuttering is not a typical aspect of speech development
- If you believe your child may have a stutter, it is advised that you consult with a Speech Pathologist as early as possible
- Signs of stuttering include word or sound repetitions e.g. “b-b-but” or “the the the”, prolongations e.g. “So weeee went…” or blocks where the individual struggles to get the sound out
8+ Years
By 8 years of age the majority of children have developed appropriate articulation of all speech sounds. They are able to understand and follow longer and more complex instructions and their ability to formulate detailed sentences using a range of conjunctions (e.g. ‘because’, ‘even though’, ‘unless’) continues to grow. In terms of literacy skills, children learn to use correct punctuation and reading continues to become more fluent. Difficulties with speech, language and literacy skills during the school years are typically first identified by the child’s school teacher. As the teacher spends a large proportion of the day with the child and has the opportunity to observe their performance in a variety of academic tasks, they can generally provide you with a good indication of how your child is performing in comparison to their peers. If your child’s teacher expresses concerns regarding your child’s performance at school, or if you feel that they are experiencing difficulties, a Speech pathology assessment may help to identify areas of difficulty which may be impacting on their academic or social achievements.
Adult
Although Speech Pathologists frequently work with children, many adults too have lived with a communication difficulty or acquire a communication difficulty during their life time. If an adult feels that their communication skills are letting them down, a Speech Pathologist can assess their concerns, provide a diagnosis and work together with the individual to improve the communication skills that matter to them the most.
SpeechBee Speech Pathology Services provides assessment and treatment for adults with the following communication difficulties:
- Stuttering
- Articulation difficulties
- Language difficulties
