Licensed Speech Language Pathologist:

Expressive Language Skills

Does your child’s speech sound similar to his/her peers?

Is he/she able to communicate as well as his/her peers?

Is he/she understood by strangers as much as his/her peers?

Receptive Language Skills

Does your child seem to understand what others are telling him/her as well as his/her peers?

Does your child follow directions as well as his/her peers?

Does your child play with toys and use objects similar to his/her peers?

Articulation Skills

Does your child make approximately the same sounds as his/her peers?

Is your child as intelligible as his/her peers?

Do you or other adults have frequent difficulty understanding the words/sounds the child is trying to say?

13-24 Months

• follows simple commands
• can point to 1-3 body parts
• knows and uses at least 3-20 words
• makes request for more of a desired item
  

19-24 Months

• should be approximately 25-50% intelligible to strangers.
• understands 300 or more words
• uses 50-100 or more words
• starts to make 2 word sentences
• answers “what’s this" questions for familiar items
• knows and can point to 5 body parts
  

2-3 Years

• should be 50-75% intelligible to strangers
• requests items by name
• points to pictures in a book when named
• identifies several body parts
• follows simple commands
• answers simple questions
• asks 1-2 word questions
• uses 3-4 word sentences
• uses 50-250 or more words
• understands most things said to him or her
  

3-4 Years

• should be 80% intelligible to strangers
• understands differences in meaning (stop-go, in-on, big-little)
• follows 2 and 3 part commands
• asks and answers simple questions (who, what, where, why)
• frequently asks questions and often demands details in responses
• uses language to express emotion
• uses 4-5 word sentences
• uses “is,” “are,” and “am” in sentences
  

4-5 Years

• speech is usually intelligible to strangers
• recognizes 1-3 colors
• counts to 10
• uses grammatically correct sentences
• uses sentences of 4-8 words
• asks for word definitions
• talks about experiences at school, at a friend's house, etc...
• accurately relays a long story
• pays attention to a story and answers simple questions about it
  

5-6 Years

• communicates easily with adults
• names 6 basic colors and 3 basic shapes
• follows instructions given to a group
• follows 3 part commands
• asks “how” questions
• answers verbally to “hi” and “how are you”
• names opposites
• sequentially names days of the week
• counts to 30
• uses sentences with details
• accurately relays a story
  

6-7 Years

• engages in conversations
• names some letters
• sequences numbers
• understands “left” and “right”
• understands most concepts of time
• recites the alphabet
• counts to 100