Developmental Milestones

Articulation Milestones

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.

Articulation Milestones (continued)

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.

Articulation Quick Reference

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)

Language Milestones

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.

Fine Motor Milestones

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.