Age

Speech Sound Development

0-2 months

Unintentional sounds

2-4 months

Cooing – vowel-like sounds

3-6 months

Babbling emerges – not well formed syllables

6-10 months

Babbling – consonant-vowel combinations (i.e., “da”, “muh”, “bababa”

8-12 months

Jargon – changes in vowels and consonants (i.e., “do-ba-di”.  Vocalizes during play

SOUNDS THAT HAVE EMERGED INCLUDE:

m, n, d, b

12-18 months

Consonant-vowel word shapes – “ma”, “no”. Reduplicated babble – “wawa” for water, “nana” for banana. Final sounds of words may be omitted – “be” for “bed”.

SOUNDS THAT HAVE EMERGED INCLUDE:

m, n, d, b, y, w, p, t

18-24 months

70% of consonants are correct. Final sounds emerge and two syllable words emerge.

SOUNDS THAT HAVE EMERGED INCLUDE:

m, n, d, b, y, w, p, t, h

24-36 months

May omit one consonant of a consonant blend – “bue” for “blue”.

SOUNDS THAT HAVE EMERGED INCLUDE:

m, n, d, b, y, w, p, t, k, g, h, s, f, v

36-48 months

Substitution of “w” for “r” and “w” or “y” for “l” is common.

SOUNDS THAT HAVE EMERGED INCLUDE:

m, n, d, b, y, w, p, t, k, g, h, s, f, v, sh, ch, j

48-60 months

Very few errors remain developmentally appropriate. All sounds should be emerged. Some errors may remain on “r” and “th”.

SOUNDS THAT HAVE EMERGED INCLUDE:

All sounds

Adapted from:
Sax, N. and Weston, E. Language Development Milestones. University of Alberta. January 2007.

Age In Months

Intelligibility

18 months

25% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener

24 months

50-75 % intelligible to an unfamiliar listener

36 months

75-100% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener

48 months

100% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener

Lynch, J.I., Brookshire, B.L, and Fox, D.R. (1980). A Parent-Child Cleft Palate Curriculum: Developing Speech and Language. CC Publications, Oregon. Page 102.

Age

75% of Children Have Mastered

95% of Children Have Mastered

2 years

p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, ng, w, y, h, f

p, d, m, n, w h

3 years

v, s, z, sh, ch, l, r (vowel r)

b, t, k, g

4 years

r (consonant r)

ng, l, f

5 years

th

v, s, z, sh, ch, j, l

6 years

All sounds

Consonant and vowel r

***It should be noted that over the age of 5, the likelihood of spontaneous development of sounds decreases significantly.

Adapted from: Clinical Assessment of Articulation and Phonology (2002)

Age

Receptive (Understanding) Language

Expressive (Verbal) Language

0-3 months

Follows a person with eyes; smiles to a voice; cries differently when tired, hungry, in pain; startles to loud noise; looks toward sound

Attempts to use voice; begins blowing bubbles

3-6 months

Responds to name by looking; smiles; laughs; cries when parents leave

Begins vowel-like sounds, vocalizes in response to speech; imitates familiar sounds and actions

6-8 months

Understands 5-50 words; begins to relate symbols to objects; understands simple commands

Gestures and/or vocalizes to indicate wants; first true word emerges (although normal development for 1st word is up to 14 months); jargon and babbling present, vocalizes during play and to mirror; changes intonation

12-18 months

Understands 200 words; words are understood outside of routine games; points to familiar or desired objects; follows one-step commands; uses nouns, verbs, possessives (mine), rejections (no), agents (names)

Average spoken vocabulary of 50-100 words by 18 months; vocalizes with gestures; says “all gone”; can answer the question “what’s this?”; asks for “more”; imitates words; first 2-word phrase emerges

18-24 months

Understands words for objects out of sight; listens to simple stories; follows directions involving spatial concepts

Expressive vocabulary of 200-300 words; 2-word phrases predominate; responds to yes/no questions; uses verbs and adjectives; refers to self by name; marks a question with rising inflection

24-36 months

Understands “wh” questions; follows a series of two-step commands; knows descriptive concepts (big, small); understands pronouns

Combines 3-4 words; answers “wh” questions; uses possession; uses adverbs (here, now); uses “is”;uses a variety of grammatical endings

36-48 months

Responds to 3-step commands; understands a variety of complex and compound sentence structures; understands color and shape; understands spatial concepts

Produces 4-5 word sentences; uses complex and compound sentences; uses contractions; uses a variety of verb tenses; asks how and why questions; answers “what if” questions; tells events in sequence

48-60 months

Knowledge of numbers; uses conjunctions

Asks for the meaning of words; produces 8 word sentences; subject-verb agreement is accurate

Adapted From:
Sax, N. and Weston, E. Language Development Milestones. University of Alberta, January, 2007.

0-3 MONTHS

hands most often remain closed; has grasp reflex (grasps objects involuntarily if placed in palm)

2-4 MONTHS

reaches for ("swipes at") objects inaccurately

3-3 1/2 MONTHS

clasps hands together often

3 1/2- 4 MONTHS

begins purposeful, visually directed reaching

3-7 MONTHS

can hold small objects in hand

4-8 MONTHS

can transfer objects from one hand to the other

can pick up cube/medium sized object easily

4-10 MONTHS

develops accurate forward and side reach

5-9 MONTHS

"rakes" or "scoops" small objects to pick them up (i.e. using fingers/palm/whole hand to scoop up Cheerios, raisins etc.

7-9 MONTHS

intentionally able to drop/release objects (get ready for the "watch-me-drop-this-watch-mommy/daddy-pick-it-up-AGAIN" game!)

7-12 MONTHS

able to pick up small objects using thumb and finger/fingers

10 MONTHS

pokes and/or points with index finger

12-18 MONTHS

holds crayon with whole hand, thumb up

2 YEARS

holds crayon with thumb and all fingers, forearm turned so thumb is pointing down

puts on shoes, socks, and shorts

takes off shoes and socks

can use a spoon by himself, keeping it upright

can draw and copy a vertical line

2 1/2- 3 YEARS

strings large beads

snips paper with scissors

rolls clay/playdoh into "snake"

can draw and copy a horizontal line

3-3 1/2 YEARS

able to complete simple puzzles

can build a tower of nine small blocks or more

can get himself dressed/undressed independently; only needs help with buttons; still confuses front/back of clothes, and right/left shoes

can feed himself with little or no spilling, drinks from a cup/glass with one hand

3 1/2- 4 YEARS

can pour his own drink from a pitcher if not too heavy

can place small pegs into small holes

able to string small beads

can hold a pencil with a "tripod grasp" (3 fingers), but moves forearm and wrist to write/draw/color

4-4 1/2 YEARS

can use scissors to follow and cut both straight and curved lines

can manage buttons, zippers, and snaps completely

can draw and copy a cross (one vertical and one horizontal intersecting lines)

4 1/2- 5 YEARS

can hold fork using his fingers

can feed himself soup with little or no spilling

folds paper in half, making sure the edges meet

puts a key in a lock and opens it

5 YEARS

can get dressed completely by himself, and usually tie shoelaces

cuts square, triangle, circle, and simple pictures with scissors

uses a knife to spread food items (jelly, peanut butter, mayo etc.), uses a dull knife to cut soft foods

able to draw and copy a diagonal line

uses a "tripod grasp" on writing utensils (thumb & tips of 1st two fingers) and uses fingers only (because small muscles of hand have developed) to write/draw/color

5 1/2- 6 YEARS

can build a five block "bridge"

sufficient bilateral hand coordination to cut out complex pictures, accurately following the outline

able to copy a sequence of letters or numbers correctly

6 YEARS

able to complete complex puzzles

Therefore, by 6 years old, a child's fine motor skills have developed sufficiently enough to complete writing, dressing, and feeding tasks properly and efficiently. A child will now have adequate dexterity, bilateral coordination, and eye-hand coordination to complete writing and cutting tasks. Children will continue to develop and refine these skills, but the foundation is developed and laid down within the first six years. This is precisely WHY a child will need toys, games, and activities to practice and enhance these skills during his early childhood.