Communication Red Flags
Are you concerned about your child’s speech and language development?
Here are crucial steps in the development of speech and language that may help guide you to determine whether or not your child would benefit from a speech and language screening or speech and language evaluation.
Questions or concerns? Our speech and language experts are happy to assist. Email us at Askanexpert@llatherapy.org, or schedule an evaluation Here
Six Months
• Vowels begin to be interspersed with more consonants
• Babbles and becomes more active during exciting sounds
• Vocalizes pleasure and displeasure
• Vocalizes pleasure and displeasure
Nine Months
• Uses words meaningfully
• Responds to 1 or 2 words other than name
• Imitates coughs, tongue clicking, and hissing
• Responds to 1 or 2 words other than name
• Imitates coughs, tongue clicking, and hissing
Twelve Months
• Says 2 to 8 words
• Imitates sounds of animals
• Controls intonations, patterns of those similar to parents
• Imitates sounds of animals
• Controls intonations, patterns of those similar to parents
Thirteen to Eighteen Months
• Says 4 to 6 six words at 15 months, 10 or more at 18 months
• Points to desired objects
• Vocalizes voice up and down
• Points to desired objects
• Vocalizes voice up and down
Twenty-Four Months
• Forms short sentences with vocabulary of about 300 words
• Uses pronouns
• Verbalizes need for food, drink, and toilet
• Uses pronouns
• Verbalizes need for food, drink, and toilet
Red Flags
Contact us if your child is not babbling by 9 months or not producing any words by 15 months. Not producing meaningful words by 18 months, or word combinations by 24 months can also indicate an issue. At anytime your child demonstrates periods of stalled speech development, consult a speech language pathologist. Other red-flags in communication include no interest in communicating with others, no pointing or gesturing for preferred toys, objects, people, or actions, and not responding to auditory stimuli such as noise and speech.
- By 2 years old your child’s speech should be 50% intelligible
- By 3 years old your child’s speech should be 75% intelligible
- Between 4 and 5 years old, your child’s speech should be between 75% and 90% intelligible.