Menu
Contributor,
Miss.Alka Raghu
Speech language pathologist
Tiny CDC and Rehab
Miss.Alka Raghu
Speech language pathologist
Tiny CDC and Rehab
What is speech therapy?
Speech therapy for kids is about more than just speaking; it also encompasses articulation delays, fluency concerns, feeding and swallowing issues, social skills, language disorders and more.
Speech therapy for kids is about more than just speaking; it also encompasses articulation delays, fluency concerns, feeding and swallowing issues, social skills, language disorders and more.
7 REASONS WHY A CHILD SHOULD SEE A SPEECH THERAPIST
- Delayed speaking/communicating
- Speech is unclear or unintelligible to peers, family members, and friends
- Child does not gesture or babble to communicate
- Limited eye contact or lacks social skills
- Poor written language skills
- Difficulty with processing information it can be written or verbal
- Trouble with memory
Speech and language milestones 0-5 years
Birth – 3 months
- Responds to environmental sounds
- Recognizes familiar voices
- Smiles at familiar people
- Coos/goos when happy
- Exhibits distinct crying for different situations
4 – 6 months
- Looks in the direction of sounds
- Responds to tone of voice
- Babbles with many different sounds (including p, b, and m)
- Laughs and gurgles
- Expresses excitement and displeasure
7 months – 1 year
- Looks in direction of sounds
- Listens to others speech
- Recognises common words
- Responds to simple requests
- Varying babbling
- Gains others attention without crying
- Uses gestures and imitates sounds
- Uses 1-2 words
1 – 2 years
- Points to body parts when asked
- Follows simple directions
- Understands simple questions
- Vocabulary increases every month
- Uses 1 and 2-word questions
- Puts 2 words together
- Uses many different consonant sounds
2 – 3 years
- Understands simple opposites
- Follows 2-step directions
- Listens to stories
- Uses 2-3 word phrases
- Speech is usually understood by familiar listeners
- May stutter on words and sounds but not bothered by it
- Names objects
- Asks “why”?
3 – 4 Years
- Uses 3-4 word sentences
- Understands family words
- Talks about events/activities that happened away from home
- Speech is mostly understandable
- Answers simple ‘wh’-questions
- Asks “when” and/or “how” questions
- Understands basic shapes and colors
- Uses pronouns and some plurals
4 – 5 Years
- Follows complex instructions
- Hears and understands most of what is said to and around them
- Produces all speech sounds, but may make intermittent errors on l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, and/or th.
- Names letters and numbers
- Tells short stories and maintains conversations
- Can adapt speech to listener, e.g., give more/less info
Conclusion:
A child’s communication skills develop rapidly during the first years of life, and understanding speech and language milestones is crucial for monitoring their development. If you have concerns about your child’s communication skills, seek advice from a Speech and Language Therapist for guidance and support.
A child’s communication skills develop rapidly during the first years of life, and understanding speech and language milestones is crucial for monitoring their development. If you have concerns about your child’s communication skills, seek advice from a Speech and Language Therapist for guidance and support.
