Developmental milestones are general guidelines to help gauge the progress of your child. It is important to remember children develop at different rates, there are may causes of a speech delay, and they can be effectively treated. 

For instance, the average 2 year old can say about 50 words and speak sentences using two and three words. 

The typical 3 year old can say approximately 1,000 words and sentences with three and four words. 

If your child is not meeting those milestones, it doesn’t necessarily mean there is something wrong. But it is worth looking into, early intervention can make all the difference. Speech and language delays can lead to social and behavior problems, as well as difficulty reading and learning. 

The difference between speech and language delays

It isn’t always easy to tell them apart, and while they are often referred to together, there are some distinctions between a language and speech delay. 

A language delay entails the understanding of communicating, both nonverbal and verbal. While they may pronounce words correctly, their sentences or phrases many not make sense. Others may have trouble understanding them. 

A speech delay involves the physical act of saying sounds and words. Issues forming the right sounds and words. It doesn’t involve nonverbal or comprehension communication like a language delay. 

Often times, the two conditions, language and speech delays, can overlap. 

What is typical for a 3 year old? Healthline explains:

use about 1,000 words

call themselves by name, call others by name

use nouns, adjectives, and verbs in three- and four-word sentences

form plurals

ask questions

tell a story, repeat a nursery rhyme, sing a song

People who spend the most time with a toddler tend to understand them best. About 50. Tp 90 percent of 3-year-olds can speak well enough for strangers to understand most of the time.

Signs of a speech delay:

Age 2: doesn’t use at least 25 words

Age 2 1/2: doesn’t use unique two-word phrases or noun-verb combinations

Age 3: doesn’t use at least 200 words, doesn’t ask for things by name, hard to understand even if you live with them

Any age: unable to say previously learned words.

Check back with us next week for other clues to know if your child has a speech or language delay. Until then, contact First Words Therapy for more information.