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Gere Speech and Language Therapy, LLC
Speech Sound Development
Articulation
Average age children learn to pronounce English consonants correctly; based on 15 English speech acquisition studies compiled by McLeod and Crowe, 2018
2-3 Years
p, b, m, d, n, h, t, k, g, w, ng, f, y
4 Years
l, j, ch, s, v, sh, z
5 Years
r, zh, th (voiced)
6 Years
th (voiceless)
McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100. Available from: https://ajslp.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2701897
Developmental Concerns
Under 18 months
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No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by 6 months
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No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by 9 months or thereafter
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No babbling by 12 months
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Does not respond to his/her name by 12 months
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No sharing/reciprocal interactions like pointing, sharing, reaching or waving by 12 months
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No pointing at objects of interest by 14 months (pointing at a car driving by)
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Does not understand simple common words like mama or milk
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Is not using any words by 16 months
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Does not imitate gross motor movements like clapping or stomping feet
By 18 Months
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Does not use at least 8-10 meaningful words
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Does not follow simple commands like “come here” “stop” “don’t” “give me the __________” or “touch your nose”
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Does not follow your pointing with his gaze
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Is not playing “pretend” with items (talking on toy phone, feeding a doll)
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Does not play in proximity to other children
By Age Two
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No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
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Does not follow simple two step commands such as “Get the ball and put it on the table”
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Speech is not at least 50% understandable
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Cannot point to pictures of items in books when asked
By Age Three
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Is not using three and four word sentences
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Speech is not at least 75% or more understandable
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Child is leaving the beginnings or ends off of most words
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Cannot accurately answer yes/no questions
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Cannot answer simple “wh” questions like “who is that?” or “where is the truck?”
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Does not play with other children
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Is experiencing stuttering behavior for more than 6 months
By Four to Five Years
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Is not 90-100% understandable to strangers despite age appropriate articulation errors (may not be able to say /r, sh, ch, l, or th yet)
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Is not consistently using 4+ word, complex sentences
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Is not asking a variety of questions to gain information (who, what, where, why and when)
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Is having difficulty with grammar or pronoun use
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Cannot tell a simple story on topic
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Cannot follow simple two step directions
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Has difficulty answering simple who, what, where and why questions
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Is not yet able to name a few letters, numbers, and rhyming words
Overall Warning Signs
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ANY loss of speech or babbling or social skills at ANY age
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Never gestures or imitates
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Does not appear to understand speech, or appears to be unable to hear
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Never develops words beyond repeating others over and over
Please use this list as a resource only. If you have any concerns about your child's development, talk to your pediatrician. An assessment of your child's developmental skills may be warranted. For more information: http://www.asha.org/SLP/schools/prof-consult/norms/
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Resource: http://www.playingwithwords365.com/red-flags/