i’m a speech/language therapist who specializes in language development for preschool aged children (under 5). as a rule of thumb, children approximate adult language at 5 years of age. i didn’t really include speech sound development because that’s a whole lot of explanation. but, here’s what their language looks like from birth - 5 years:
Quiets or smiles when spoken to
Seems to recognize caregiver’s voice and quiets if crying
Makes pleasure sounds (cooing, gooing)
Cries differently for different needs
Smiles they see caregiver
Turns eyes to the direction of sounds
Responds to changes in tone of voice
Interested in music / toys that make sounds
Babbling is reduplicated repetitions of different easy to pronounce sounds, (i.e. ”papapa,” “bababa,” “mamama”)
Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
Enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
Turns and looks in direction of sounds
Recognizes words for common items like “cup”, “shoe”, “book”, or “juice”
Begins to respond to commands and requests (e.g. “Come here” or “Want more?”)
Babbling has many different sounds (”pabamima”)
Uses gestures to communicate (waving, holding arms to be picked up)
Imitates different speech sounds
Has one or two words (hi, dog, dada, mama) around first birthday, although words may not be intelligible
Points to a few body parts when asked.
Follows simple commands and understands simple questions (“Roll the ball,” “Kiss the baby,” “Where’s your shoe?”).
Points to pictures in a book when named.
Vocabulary size increases every month
Child over generalizes words (i.e. every four legged animal is “doggy”)
Uses some one- or two- word questions (“Where kitty?” “Go bye-bye?” “What’s that?”).
Once vocabulary size reaches ~250 words child begins to put two words together (“more cookie,” “no juice,” “mommy book”).
Understands opposites (“go-stop,” “in-on,” “big-little,” “up-down”).
Follows two-step requests (“Get the book and put it on the table”).
Should be able to listen to story books for longer periods of time
Vocab size increased to the point where they have a word for almost everything, new words every day.
Uses two- or three- words sentences.
Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time.
Often asks for or directs attention to objects by labeling them.
Asks “why?” but may not be able to answer (**asking questions comes far before being able to answer them!!)
May stutter on words or sounds (this is normal unless it distresses the child)
Will respond when called from another room.
Can talk about familiar activities that happened at school or at friends’ homes while the listener was not present. Uses about 4 sentences at a time. (Not yet a full adult-like narrative, but making progress.)
People outside of the family understand child’s speech.
Answers simple “who?”, “what?”, and “where?” questions.
Asks “when?” and “how?” questions.
Understands simple meta-linguistic structures such as rhymes (i.e. “hat-cat”)
Uses pronouns, such as I, you, me, we, or they
Uses some plural words, like toys, birds, and buses (may overgeneralize plural or past tense “
Sentences have 4 or more words.
Usually has outgrown stuttering behaviors.
Understands sequencing words like first, next, and last.
Understands words for time, like yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Follows 3-4 step directions, like “Put your pajamas on, brush your teeth, and then pick out a book.”
Says all speech sounds in words. May still make mistakes on sounds that are harder to say, like l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, th. **Mistakes on /r/ are common until 7 years of age
Uses sentences that have more than one verb.
With adult support can construct a short narrative about something the listener is not familiar with (i.e. “What happened in the movie?”)
Understands that they must change their language depending on the listener and place. May use short sentences with younger children or talk louder outside than inside.
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