Does My Toddler Need Speech Therapy?
One of the questions I frequently hear from parents is “Does my child really need speech? He’s only three…” or “My pediatrician recommends speech therapy, but what could you possibly do with a two-year old in speech?”. While toddlers haven’t completely mastered speech and language yet, there are certain milestones that we typically see by certain ages. Children develop at their own individual pace, but if your toddler seems to be behind in multiple areas, or if he is becoming frustrated when he can’t communicate effectively with caregivers and/or peers, it might be time to talk to a speech therapist.
EARLY SPEECH & LANGUAGE MILESTONES
Between the ages of 0 and 3 years, children begin to acquire a variety of sounds in their language and begin to combine these sounds in different ways. They also begin to develop a vocabulary and early grammar. Some skills to look for during the toddler years according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) are outlined below.
0-1 Year
Understanding
Responds to changes in your tone of voice.
Reacts to sounds and speaking through eye movement and turning in the direction of the sound.
Begins to understand words for common items, such as milk, bottle, mommy, daddy.
Responds to the word “no” and understands some basic phrases.
Enjoys anticipation games, such as peek-a-boo.
Expressing
Makes cooing sounds.
Cries to get different needs met.
Babbles sounds together, such as ba-ba-ba and do-do-do-do.
Begins using gestures, such as waving bye-bye and shaking head no.
Gains attention through pointing and gestures.
Says 1-2 words around first birthday.
1-2 Years
Understanding
Follows simple, 1-step directions, such as Get the ball.
Enjoys listening to shorts stories and songs.
Points to basic body parts when named (nose, head, eyes, etc.).
Points to items in environment and in books when named.
Responds to simple questions, such as “What’s that?”.
Expressing
Begins rapidly acquiring new words.
Uses the sounds p, b, m, h, w.
Say a few animal sounds (moo, baa, etc.)
Asks simple questions, such as “Where Daddy?”.
Begins to combine two words together, such as Daddy home, more milk, and all done.
2-3 Years
Understanding
Begins to understand a variety of concepts, such as opposites, spatial concepts (in, on, under), colors, etc.
Continues to understand new words at a rapid rate.
Begins to follow 2-step directions, such as “Get the ball and put it in the box”.
Expressing
Has a word for almost everything, including objects, actions, and descriptors.
Uses some pronouns, such as me, you.
Consistently uses 2-word phrases to communicate and begins to combine 3 words together.
Can be understood by others about 75% of the time.
Talks about items that are not in sight.
Begins to ask “Why?”.
Begins to tell simple stories and talk about his day.
For more information about early developing speech and language milestones, visit ASHA’s website How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?.
IT’S TIME TO SPEAK WITH A SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST IF YOUR TODDLER…
is not babbling.
doesn’t attempt to imitate gestures and sounds/words.
only uses language he has heard from shows, songs, or other people.
is 18 months and has fewer than 5 words.
doesn’t seem to understand basic, routine instructions.
doesn’t respond when you call his name.
is 2 years old and hasn’t started to combine 2 words together.
has difficulty playing and interacting with peers.
is difficult to understand and becomes frustrated when not understood.
If any of the above describes your toddler or if you have other questions about your child’s speech and language development, it may be helpful to speak with a speech therapist. Here at Barnes Speech and Language Services, we offer a free initial 15-minute consultation to answer all your questions and determine if a speech and language evaluation is warranted. Call us at (810)-255-1412 or contact us here to schedule yours.
Source: “How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart/. Accessed 10 July 2023.