Children develop and learn at their own pace, making the range of what is considered normal very broad. While it is perfectly normal to mispronounce words on occasion, it is easy to overlook any issues. As parents, we can’t help but worry. Is my child meeting the developmental milestones?
While it is easy to overlook any issues, speech and language development have become prevalent in America.
The key to success is early intervention.
“Parents should take children for a speech evaluation any time they’re concerned,” says Diane Paul, PhD, Director of Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
1-2 years
At the 1-2 year range, a child is continuing to build upon their vocabulary and should have acquired approximately 50 words in their vocabulary by the end of this period. Your child is also combining two words to make short phrases during this stage, for example “More juice.” The production of these words is getting clearer during this time as they are using more consonant sounds.
Your child is beginning to recognize and use simple rules of grammar, for example verb+ing forms (i.e. running).
2-3 years
During this stage, your child is undergoing what is known as a “vocabulary explosion”. They are acquiring a significant amount of new vocabulary words, and may even be learning new words each day.
The length of phrases during this age range is 1-3 word phrases that can be understood by familiar listeners.
Your child is beginning to use basic size concepts (i.e. “big”)
At this stage, your child is continuing to use more appropriate grammar, for example plural –s (i.e. cats)
When it comes to a the development of a child’s speech and language, experts don’t recommend the “wait and see” approach.
“What we know is that the sooner the issues are addressed by a professional, the better chance the child has of getting on that normal developmental progression,” said Elise Davis-McFarland, president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we encourage you to contact Orlando’s First Words Therapy. We take a holistic approach to speech-language-therapy to help your child communicate more effectively. Check back with us next week for more milestones.
