Self Help for Children

Speech and language development begins at birth; however, children develop speech, sounds and language at different rates. They should be able to say all speech sounds correctly by age 8. Guidelines for speech and language development follow:

Birth-3 Months

• Uses few sounds
• Communicates by crying

Birth-6 Months

• Uses different cries for different needs
• Turns, looks, smiles at familiar voices and sounds
• Begins to coo using vowel-like sounds
• Makes different experimental sounds

6-12 Months

• Starts to understand word meaning
• Learns language of daily routines
• Babbles using consonant and vowel combinations
• Begins to imitate sounds

12-18 Months

• Begins to use meaningful words
• Pronounces some words correctly
• Uses most vowels and some consonants consistently

12-24 Months

• Says first words and meaningful sound combinations
• Follows a variety of basic directions
• Recognizes common objects and their uses
• Produces about 270 words by 24 months

1 ½ -2 Years

• Produces rapid speech sound development
• Simplifies difficult words

2-3 Years

• Uses more words
• Combines words to expand meaning
• Produces sentences of three to four words by age 3
• Produces 300-500 words by age 3

3-5 Years

• Follows two to three directions
• Produces 600-1600 words
• Talks about experiences and recent events
• Talks in longer, more complex sentences
• Speaks in understandable language 80-100% of the time
• Produces more complex speech sounds

Top Speech Development Strategies

• Be a good model for your child; don't use baby talk.
• Pronounce words clearly and slowly for your child to hear and imitate.
• Look at your child when you are talking.
• Repeat new words and sounds; use them in conversation.
• Praise your child when the sounds he or she makes are correct.
• Between the ages of 2 and 6 almost all children repeat sounds, syllables and words that may sound like stuttering.
• This may last a few weeks or several months, but will eventually disappear.

Managing Stuttering

• Don't call attention to your child by facial expressions or verbal comments.
• Don't tell your child to slow down.
• Make sure your child is getting rest, a healthy diet and exercise.
• Reduce tensions at home.
• Give your child plenty of time to talk without interruption.
• Don't be impatient or embarrassed by your child's speech.
• Discipline calmly.

A child may have a voice disorder resulting from vocal abuse. Please ask your doctor for a referral to speech therapy if you are concerned about any of the speech/language voice or swallowing problems described. Patients are evaluated by a certified speech/language pathologist with an advanced degree, who performs evaluations, counsels you about the results and provides appropriate therapy as ordered by your physician.