Your child’s speech and language developmental milestones
The following milestones are rough "rules of thumb" for the majority of children. If your child is more than 2-3 months delayed compared to the age-groups mentioned below, it might indicate hearing loss or delayed speech-language development.
Demonstrate an understanding of simple words “mommy," “daddy," “no," “bye-bye."
Babbling should sound “speech like,” with single syllables strung together (“da-da-da-da”). The first recognizable words emerge at about this time.
One or more real words spoken.
Understand simple phrases, retrieve familiar objects on command (without gestures) and point to body parts. Also should have a spoken vocabulary between 20 and 50 words and use short phrases (“no more," “go out," “mommy up").
Spoken vocabulary should be at least 150 words, coupled with the emergence of simple two word sentences. Most speech should be understandable to adults who are not with the child daily. Toddlers also should be able to sit and listen to read-aloud picture books.
3 to 5 years
Spoken language should be used constantly to express wants, reflect emotions, convey information and ask questions. A pre-schooler should understand nearly all that is said. Vocabulary grows from 1000 to 2000 words, which are linked in complex and meaningful sentences. All speech sounds should be clear and understandable by the end of the preschool period.
Phonak acknowledges the permission and assistance of the following organizations for their expertise in this portion of our website:
- The Better Hearing Institute
- The Infant Hearing Guide