As children begin to acquire speech and language milestones, parents of preschoolers often ask themselves, "Is my child's language development normal?" The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) points out that a child goes through predictable phases of language development--from cooing and babbling, echolalia (mimicking other's speech), use of simple word combinations and ultimately, the formation of intact, semantically and syntactically correct sentences. Absent any existing conditions that may impair development--such as autism, hearing loss or a cleft palate, among many others--by the time a monolingual child reaches a certain age, he'll most likely acquire specific speech and language milestones.
Speech Versus Language
A child's ability to communicate is broken down into two different components: speech, the motor (physical) act of communicating verbally; and language, which is the ability to understand, symbolically, the system used for interpersonal communication, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Your preschooler's language is further broken down into her receptive language skills, which is the ability to understand what is communicated to her; and expressive language skills, her ability to sufficiently communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings in a way that's understood.
Birth to 1 Year
During the first few months of your child's life, nominal speech and language skills are noted. Your infant responds to loud noises (sometimes by increasing or decreasing suckling behavior), calms or smiles when spoken to, recognizes the parent's voice and makes cooing/gurgling sounds to express pleasure. It isn't until the last 5 months of your child's first year that he localizes to sound sources, listens when you speak to him, recognizes common words (such as "book" or "bottle") or responds to simple directives ("Come here"). Verbally, babbling patterns increase in complexity, occurring in short and long strings. Your child also uses verbal gestures to express needs and desires, imitates speech sounds and acquires a limited number of words, such as "mama," "dada" and "bye."
1 to 2 Years
As your child continues to grow, her communication skills become more complex and apparent. She can point to body parts on self and others when named, points to pictures when named, follows simple one-step commands, such as "Pet the kitty," and understands simple interrogatives, such as "Where's your bottle?" It is also at this age that your child can listen to very short stories, songs and nursery rhymes. Her expressive lexicon increases, and she gradually adds more words each month. You likely notice two-part word strings, such as "More milk," as well as use of a question inflection when she asks, "Where puppy?"
2 to 3 Years
As your child approaches preschool age, he begins to infer differences between the meaning of words, such as "big/little," "up/down" and "stop/go." He raptly listens to longer stories and is able to follow simple two-part commands, such as "Get your cup and bring it here." Your child will be able to find a word to label almost everything; during this age, and two-word phrases increase to three, as the child begins to request objects and actions. Use of more complex consonants--/k/, /g/, /f/, /d/ and /n/--increases. Speech is intelligible to you and other caregivers most of the time.
When to be Concerned
Speech and language delays are a concern of pediatricians, according to the AAFP, as other developmental problems may also be present. Delayed speech and language can not only cause frustration for a child who is unable to communicate, but can have an effect on her academic performance and social interaction with peers, according to the AAFP. Generally speaking, a preschool-aged child is considered to have a speech or language disorder if she is functioning well below her chronological age. If your preschooler's language and speech skills are commensurately below those of same-age peers, ASHA advises you to contact a speech-language pathologist, a professional who identifies and treats these disorders.
