| Approximate Age | Expressive Language | Auditory Comprehnsion |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 4 months | Verbal play through cooing, gooing, and laughing. Vowel sounds heard such as ooohh, eee, and ahhh. | Turns head toward sounds and can begin to discriminate one sound from another |
| 4 to 8 months | Babbling begins. Some consonant sounds can be heard | Anticipates an event ( i.e. peek-a-boo) and follows a line regard (e.g. visually follows toy moving across the floor) as well as joint attention (i.e. is capable of visually attending to object with a caregiver) |
| 8 to 12 months | Syllable variation (ex. Badugatada). First word approximations (dada for daddy). Non-verbal communication | Relates words with physical objects. Responds to simple phrases such as “no” |
| 1 to 2 years | 10-15 words at 18 months, 40-50 words at 24 months. Uses mostly nouns and pronouns. Unintelligible jargon. | Increased attention to toys. Knows a few simple commands with gestures. Points to simple pictures. |
| 2 to 3 years | 150 words at age 2; 300-400 at age 3. Uses 2-3 word phrases frequently. Ask simple questions. Fluency can be poor. Vowel sounds are intact. | Comprehension shows rapid increase. Responds to 2 step commands with prepositions (i.e. Pick up the ball and put it on the table) |
| 3 to 4 years | Uses 600-1000 words and 3-4 word sentences. Pronouns and adjectives are used as well as some adverbs, prepositions, past tense, and plurals. Answers what, where & when questions. | Understands 1500 words. Recognizes gender differences, plurals, pronouns, adjectives and colors. |
| 4 to 5 years | Vocabulary increases to 1000-1600 words and 4-6 word sentences. Uses 3-4 syllable words. Articles appear. Improved fluency. | Comprehends 1500-2000 words. Understands if, because, why, and when. Follows complex directions. |
| 5 to 6 years | vocabulary of 1500-2100 words. Uses complete 5-6 word sentences. Fluent speech. Many multi-syllabic words are used. | Understands 2500-2800 words. Understands more complicated sentences |
Salisbury Speech Therapy 