A Mother Sees
Maybe you’re a first time mommy and so you watch your child with great love and affection. You are also hyper-aware of your kiddo and how he differs from other kids. Maybe it’s not your first rodeo, but you still can’t help comparing your kiddo to those around him. You do it when you take him out for some fresh air, sun and fun at the park playground. It happens every time you take him to a friend’s birthday party. It’s nothing strange; every mother does it.
What concerns you is that your child doesn’t seem to speak as much or as clearly as other children. Of course children who are older are more developed. Is that the only difference? Or is this something you should look into?
Typical Milestones
Every child matures at his own pace. Even so, guideposts have been recorded and established at certain age ranges to monitor for typical development. This is not to label certain kids as different but to get them help if they need it. So what are these guideposts, or milestones? Let’s have a look.
Age 1 to 3
First we’re going to look at what should happen from one to three years of age. Even as early as age one, your kiddo can make significant strides when it comes to speech. Some typical markers are:
- First word comes around 1 year of age
- Babbles regularly and voice pitch should rise and fall as though they are asking a question
What can we look for when they turn two?
- He uses two word phrases (typically using at least 50 words before combining words).
- Some sounds he can make are /p/, /d/ and /t/
Here are some milestones that occur at age three.
- This is an important one: Unfamiliar listeners should be able to understand 75% of what is being communicated.
- Some sounds he can make are /k/, /g/ and /f/
Your child is basically a human sponge the first one to six years of age. That’s why ages one to three and ages four to six are crucial times in speech and language development. Let’s look at what typically occurs between the ages of four and six.
Age 4 to 6
There should be a marked difference in how your child speaks just between the ages of three and four. By age four, look for these markers.
- Strangers understand almost everything said (with the exception of certain sounds that he still struggles with because his speech organs are still developing, and there are language concepts he obviously can’t grasp yet)
- Answers “when,” why” and “how many” questions
Here’s what you can look forward to by age five.
- Is using more complex and compound sentences such as “He lost because I am faster.”
- He can recall parts of a story.
There are monumental milestones at age six.
- Speech sounds are like that of an adult
- Better at problem solving and comprehending abstract concepts
- Able to say “th” voiceless, for example when saying “think”
Atypical Progression
If you’ve looked at the milestones on this list and you know your kid is improving typically, that’s great! Then again, maybe that’s not the case for you. Perhaps your kiddo barely makes any noises and he’s one. Or he’s three and strangers can’t understand a word he says. Maybe he’s six and he still has problems saying many sounds such as /p/, /g/, /s/, /r/, and the voiceless “th.”
Or perhaps he’s able to hit those milestones but at a much slower pace. He’s three years old before he says his first words. Strangers are still having a hard time understanding half of what he says and he’s already six years old…the list goes on.
An Outside Perspective
Now would probably be a good idea to get some help from a speech therapist. Studies have shown that when it comes to intervention to correct or improve speech and language skills, sooner is always better. A speech therapist will be able to give your kiddo a thorough examination and determine if services are needed.
Understand And Accept
It’s only natural for you to want your child to have better speech and language skills, to want him to catch up to his peers. But whatever part of the step of the journey he’s on, make sure to meet him where he is. Your acceptance, coupled with encouragement and action, will make all the difference in the world.