Questions among parents about speech and language development are increasingly common:
“When should my child start talking?”
“When my child starts talking, which sounds should they pronounce correctly?”
“Is it too early to see a speech therapist?”
It is very important that parents begin speech and language stimulation of their child on time and do not miss the precious and sensitive period for speech and language development.
Late talking and delayed speech-language development affect a child’s later achievements (mastering school skills, emotional and social development…).
Speech Development in Children
How speech should develop in children, what is acceptable at a certain age and what is no longer, when the first word and sentence should be heard – we present this in norms expected for each age group.
From 12 to 18 months
- Understands "come," "bring," "let’s go"
- Recognizes named objects and points to them on request
- Points to body parts on request
- Labels some body parts in syllables
- Has an active vocabulary of 6-8 words (mama, baba, tata, papa…)
- Uses two-word phrases (give that, mama come…)
- Spontaneously names familiar objects
If these speech activities are completely or partially absent, hearing impairment may be suspected.
From 18 months to 2 years
- Can point to doll’s eye, nose, mouth, hair, hand, leg
- Understands commands (sit on the chair, bring shoes)
- Forms sentences up to 3 words
- Can name common objects like ball, clock, doll
- Can point to 7-10 pictures when named
- Pronounces simple phrases and sentences
- Answers questions like "What’s your name?", "How does a dog bark?", "What does a cat say?"
- Has a vocabulary averaging about 300 words
- Likes listening to stories and looking at pictures
- Knows how to name objects and ask for objects from the table
- Can say their own name
- Talks while playing
- Can communicate what they want
- Listens attentively and happily to songs and stories
- Points with a finger to what they want
- Joins other children in play
At 2 years
- Follows simple instructions
- Names objects
- Forms simple sentences
- Uses nouns and verbs
- Answers "What’s your name?"
- Communicates desires
- Can listen to stories and look at pictures
- Has a vocabulary of about 300 words
- Kicks a ball when shown
- Goes down stairs holding an adult’s hand
- Imitates circular pencil movements
At 3 years
- Can recognize what is eaten, drunk, worn based on pictures
- Shows how old they are with fingers
- Has a vocabulary of 500 to 1000 words
- Uses prepositions, adverbs, and adjectives
- Correctly pronounces these sounds: A, E, I, O, U, J, V, P, B, T, D, K, G, F, H, L, M, N, NJ
- Allowed deviations in sounds: S, Z, C, Č, DŽ, Š, Ž, Ć, Đ, R, LJ (distortions and substitution of LJ/L)
- Holds pencil between fingers
- Imitates vertical and horizontal lines
At 4 years
- Can describe events in 3 pictures
- Performs two commands simultaneously
- Gives correct answers to questions: What do you do when you are hungry, sleepy, thirsty?
- Counts to 5
- Has a vocabulary of about 1500 words
- Speaks in full sentences
- Speech is understandable
- Talks about self, others, daily events, etc.
- Tells about something that happened recently, in correct order
- Correctly pronounces these sounds: A, E, I, O, U, J, V, P, B, T, D, K, G, F, H, S, Z, C, L, LJ, R, M, N, NJ
- Allowed deviations in sounds: Č, DŽ, Š, Ž, Ć, Đ (distortions)
- Plays imaginary games
- Follows story content and asks questions
- Uses dominant hand more
- Cooperates in play with other children
- Is creative in inventing games
At 5 years
- Speech is completely grammatical
- Defines simple words
- Retells stories
- Follows three consecutive commands
- Correctly uses all speech elements
- By 5.5 years correctly pronounces all sounds
- Draws a person with more details
- Draws circle, square, and triangle
At 6 years
- Speech is completely grammatical
- Defines simple words
- Correctly uses all speech elements
- Correctly pronounces all sounds
- Can recognize and assemble a whole
- Can point to left and right side of the body
At 7 years
- Can retell a story
- Has fully mastered verb tenses
- Has analysis and synthesis of sounds (e.g., which letter does the word "eye" start with; when I say S-A-T, what did I say?)
- Can count forward and backward up to 20
Literature:
- Golubović, Slavica (2012). Developmental Language Disorders – Belgrade: Association of Special Educators of Serbia.
- Sovilj, M., Pantelić, S., Punišić, S., Đoković, S. If I Don’t Speak Well, If I Don’t Hear Well – Who Am I? – Belgrade: Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology.
Mirjana Kosanović
Speech therapist PU “Trešnjober”