Typical Speech and Language

Development:
How to promote speech and language
development
When to worry and when to relax

Objectives
Describe the stages of Speech and Language
development.
Help you know when to be concerned about your
childs speech and language development
Give you tools to help facilitate speech and
language in everyday situations.

The 5 areas of Typical Speech

and language development

Syntax
Semantics
Morphology
Pragmatics
Phonology

Syntax
The rules about how words are combined to form
sentences.
Basically, grammar.

Semantics
The meanings behind words and word
combinations.

Vocabulary
Definitions
Implied meaning
Idioms

Morphology
The understanding of the smallest unit of
meaning in a language.
This includes the ability to add endings such as plural
s, -ing, -ed, ly etc.
Jump, jumping, jumped, jumps
Fast, faster, fastest, quickly

Pragmatics
The study of how language is used in social
situations.

Reading/understanding body language

taking turns in conversation or play
maintaining a topic
making eye contact

Phonology
The study of how sounds are produced in a
language.
Articulation

Questions?

Now that we have all this

background information.
Lets take a look at how it applies to different
ages and stages of development.

But first a warning

Every child is DIFFERENT!
All of the stages of development that we are going to
discuss tonight are guidelines.
If your child is not meeting the milestones at exactly
the right age does not mean that they arent
developing typically. Remember that each child is
different and that there is a range of time for all of
these skills to develop.

Birth-3 Months
Child will display a startle response to loud
sounds
Seems to recognize your voice and quiets if
crying
Attend and turn their head towards a voice
Smile reflexively
Quiet when picked up
Stops activity or coos back when a person talks.

4-6 Months
The child will:
Respond by raising arms when mother says come here
Responds to changes in tone of your voice
Move or look toward family members when they are
named
Makes babbling sounds more speech-like with many
different sounds, including p, b and m
Explore their voice through vocal play (growling,
squealing, yelling, making raspberries)
Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
Chuckles and laughs

7-9 Months
The child will:
Look at objects when named
Understand no
Begins using gestures
shake their head for no
Waving
Holding arms out to be picked up

Use a wide variety of sound combinations

Babbling with differing consonant sounds (bamabama)

10-12 Months
The child will:

Understand up to 10 words
Understand simple directions (sit down)
Use first true word(s)
Give toys or objects on request
Turns head to their own name
Gesture and vocalize to indicate wants or needs

So my child is 1 or younger
What can I do to help?
(the things you probably already do, but dont
think about)

Promoting language
development: Birth to 1
Reinforce your baby's communication attempts by
looking at him or her, speaking, and imitating his
or her vocalizations
Repeat his or her laughter and facial expressions.
Teach your baby to imitate actions

Peekaboo
Clapping
blowing kisses
pat-a-cake
waving bye-bye

Promoting language
development: Birth to 1
Talk while you are doing things, such as dressing,
bathing, and feeding (e.g., "Mommy is washing
Sam's hair"; "Sam is eating carrots"; "Oh, these
carrots are good!").
Talk about where you are going, what you will do
once you get there, and who and what you'll see
(e.g., "Sam is going to Grandma's house. Grandma
has a dog. Sam will pet the dog.").

1-2 Years
Syntax & Morphology:
Uses one to two word phrases
The child will use one word to convey an entire sentence
worth of meaning:
Doggie!Look at the Doggie
Doggie? Is that a doggie?
Doggie. Naming the object.

May begin adding beginning word endings by 24 months

adding ing, and making words into plurals (dogs)

1-2 Years Cont.

Semantics:
Produces 50 words by 24 months (nouns most
prevalent)
Understands around 200 words
Follows 1-step commands with gestures
Responds to yes/no questions
Points to 1-2 body parts

1-2 Years Cont.

Pragmatics:

Child can be both the speaker and listener

Eye contact
Turn taking
Joint reference (will look at a book with an adult and
maintain attention at 18 months)

So my child is 1-2
What can I do to help?
(the things you probably already do, but dont
think about)

Promoting language
development: 1-2
Keep talking while you do things and go places
(explain what you are seeing/doing)
Use simple but grammatical speech that is easy
for your child to imitate.
Expand on words. For example, if your child says
"car," you respond by saying, "You're right! That is
a big red car."

Promoting language
development: 1-2
Read to your child as often as possible.
Try to find books with large pictures and one or two
words or a simple phrase or sentence on each page
Name and describe the pictures on each page
Have your child point to pictures that you name

2-3 Years
Syntax:
Uses 2-4 words per sentence
Sentence forms include:
Object+verb Mommy go
Verb+object Go car.
Subject+verb+object Mommy read book

Wh- questions (What that?)

Expresses negation by saying no. (No eat.)

2-3 Years Cont.

Morphology:

Present progressive ing

Plural s
Regular past tense
Some irregular past tense words that are commonly used
like went.
Prepositions in and on
Possessive s (Mommys or Daddys)

2-3 Years Cont.

Semantics

Produces between 200-600 words

Understands around 3,600 words
Answers simple Wh- questions
Identifies some body parts
Follows one and two-step commands
At 3 can tell a simple story
First pronouns (I and/or me)
Understands plurals

2-3 Years Cont.

Pragmatics
Childs sentences are usually self centered but are
generally communicative in nature.
Shifts from one topic to another very rapidly

Phonology
In general, by age 3 they should produce:
p, b, m, n, h, w

Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the

time

So my child is 2-3
What can I do to help?
(the things you probably already do, but dont
think about)

Promoting language
development: 2-3 years old
Continue to expand on what your child says
Expand on your child's vocabulary by reading
books that have a simple sentence on each page
Look at family photos and name the people. Use
simple phrases/sentences to describe what is
happening in the pictures (e.g., "Sam swims in the
pool").
Ask your child questions that require a choice,
rather than simply a "yes" or "no" answer

3-4 Years
Syntax:
Sentence length averages 3-5 words
Begins using

complex and compound sentences (I jump and play)

embeded clauses (That dog over there is big)
Passive voice (Mommy was kissed by daddy)
Negative sentences (I cant do it)

3-4 Years Cont.

Morphology:
Begins using:

Irregular plurals
Third person singular present tense (she talks)
Past and present progressive (was walking, is running)
Reflexive pronouns (myself, himself)
Uses simple regular plurals correctly
Contractions

3-4 Years Cont.

Semantics:

Produces between 800-1500 words

Understands 4,200-5,600 words
Asks how, why and when questions.
Understands common opposites (big/little)
Has labels for almost everything in their environment.
Tells about activities in sequential order

3-4 Years Cont.

Pragmatics:
Can maintain a conversation
Uses words like please, thank you, hello, and goodbye.

Phonology
In general, by age 4 they should also produce:
t, d, k, g, f

So my child is 3-4
What can I do to help?
(the things you probably already do, but dont
think about)

Promoting language
development: 3-4 years old
Expand vocabulary and the length of your child' s
utterances by reading, singing, talking about what
you are doing and where you are going, and saying
rhymes
Start reading books that have a simple plot, and
talk about the story line with your child
You can act out parts of the story together
Have your child retell the story

Encourage pretend play

4-5 Years
Syntax:
Sentence length 4.5-7 words
Uses complete sentences
Uses future verb tenses I will go

Morphology:
Comparatives (big, bigger)
More consistent irregular plurals
Most pronouns including posessives (mine, his)

4-5 Years Cont.

Semantics:
Produces 1500-2000 words; Understands 5600-9000
words.
Names items in a category (animals, clothes, toys)
Defines common words
Tells longer stories with more accurate details
Identifies objects by function (show me which one you
write with)
Uses why questions

4-5 Years Cont.

Pragmatics:
Begins to respond to conversational repairs (I dont
understand, could you explain that again?)
Better able to maintain topics in conversation
Less egocentric

Phonology:
In general by age 5 the child should also produce:
-ng- as in song, j- as in yarn

So my child is 4-5
What can I do to help?
(the things you probably already do, but dont
think about)

Promoting language
development: 4-5 years old
Encourage your child to ask for an explanation if
he or she does not understand what a word means
Read stories with easy-to-follow plots. Help your
child predict what will happen next in the story.
Start to play early board games (Candyland,
Chutes and Ladders)
Play games like I Spy

5-6 Years
Syntax:
Sentence length 6-8 words
Past, present and future tense
Language approaches more of an adult level

Morphology:
Uses indefinite pronouns (nobody)
Superlative est (earliest) and ly (slowly)

Semantics
Understands and expresses spatial relationships (on/off)
Describes similarities and differences
Names the order of objects (first, second, third)

5-6 Years Cont.

Pragmatics:
Responds appropriately to and requests conversational
repairs
Understands humor and responds appropriately

Phonology:
In general by age 6 the child should also produce:
ch, sh, s, dg-as in judge, l

Later developing sounds

By age 7:

l blends, st, v, r (initial position-red), vocalic r (bird, horse),

r-blends (grow, drive)

By age 8:
Th (voiced and unvoiced) sp, sw, sl, z, r in all positions

Things To Watch For

No words by 18 months
Limited to no eye contact by 18 months
Pervasive rocking or flapping
Highly unintelligible speech at 3 (understanding
less than 50% of what the child says)
Not putting a variety of words together by the
time theyre ready for preschool

Ways You Can Encourage Speech

and Language Development at
Home
READ to your child
Parallel and self talk

Describe what you are doing to the child while you are doing it
and describe what the child is doing while he/she is doing it.

Model correct sentence structures

If the child leaves out words you can fill them in and/or
expand their sentences.

Want cookie Oh you want a cookie

Look doggie Yes, look at the big dog! It is black and
white. Look at him run

More..
Encourage pretend play and play with them.
Encourage play with other children their own age
or older to improve pragmatic skills.
Model correct productions of words:
If the child says nake for snake you say it correctly
for them.

ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU DO

CAN ENCOURAGE SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT!
JUST KEEP TALKING WITH YOUR
KIDS!

Thank you for your time!

Any questions?