Milestones

Articulation/Speech

• Words increase in frequency,jargon almost gone by 2 years
• Asks questions by raising intonation at end of phrase
• Improvement in intelligibility – approximately 65% intelligible
• Appearance of words produced with consonant – vowel – consonant structure (hot)

Receptive Language

• Comprehends approximately 300 words
• Follows simple two-step commands
• Listens as pictures are named
• Listens to simple stories – especially likes ones heard before
• Points to five body parts on self or doll
• Responds approximately to yes/no questions (head shake)
• Object permanence fully acquired (knows something is there even when they cannot see it)
• Discriminates food from other objects (unwraps candy before eating it)
• Imitates only events that are present to the senses, not those from past experiences

Expressive Language

• Uses approximately 50 recognizable words
• Uses names of most familiar objects
• Produces animal sounds or uses its name
• Verbalizes toilet needs – may verbalize before, during or after act (closer to 2 years)
• Identifies and names five or more pictures
• Says own name on request – refers to self with full name
• Verbalizes “no”
• Verbalizes immediate experiences
• Combines 2 words into phrases (~2 years) in noun Verb or noun+adjective form

Grammer and Syntax

• Begins to use some verbs and adjectives
• Follows directions using one or two spatial concepts (in/on)
• Negation used in form of “no” (no bed)
• Possessive emerging (daddy car)
• Refers to self with pronoun and name (me Tommy)
• 33% utterances are nouns

Play

• Parallel play begins – will play near others but not with them
• Talks to self as he/she plays
• Little social give-and-take – little interest in what others say or do buy hugs, pushes, pulls, snatches, grabs, defends rights by pulling hair or kicking
• Does not ask for help; likes rapid shifts of attention
• Transports blocks in a wagon rather that just building
• Relates action to object or another person – washes, feeds combs doll in addition to self

Social Skills/Pragmatics

• Names objects in front of others
• Says “what’s that” to elicit attention
• Begins to express commands, indicate possession and express problems
• Much verbal turn-taking

Articulation/Speech

• Approximately 50 – 70% intelligible
• May omit final consonants; reduces consonant blends; substitutes one consonant for another

Receptive Language

• Comprehends approximately 500 words
• Listens to a 5 to 10 minute story
• Carries out a series of two related commands
• Identifies actions in pictures
• Has concepts “one and “all”

Expressive Language

• Uses approximately 50 – 200 intelligible words
• Names 6 objects by use
• Repeats two numbers correctly
• Answers “where” questions
• Answers “what” questions
• Answers “what do you hear with?” meaning that they understand the function of body parts?

Grammer and Syntax

• Articles “a” and “the” appear in sentences
• Present progressive “ing” on verbs
• Regular plural forms emerging (cat+cats)
• Uses in/on correctly
• Irregular past tense emerging
• Uses some contractions in memorized form (don’t, can’t, it’s)
• Appropriate use of at least two pronouns
• Asks basic questions (“daddy gone?” “what’s this?”)
• Understands concept of first- and second- person pronouns (I, you)
• 25% of utterances are nouns, 25% are verbs
• Combines three to four words in subject + verb + object format
• Average response is 2 – 3 words

Play

• Parallel play dominates
• Arranges doll furniture into meaningful groups and uses doll figures to act out simple themes (imaginative play)
• Aligns three or more cubes to make a train; pushes train
• Builds tower of six to seven blocks
• Imitates drawing a vertical line
• Sequences related actions in play such as preparing food for a doll, feeding it, wipes its mouth

Social Skills/Pragmatics

• Engages in short dialogues
• Expresses emotion
• Uses attention-getting words, such as “hey”
• Clarifies and ask for clarification
• Begins to provide descriptive details

Articulation/Speech

• Still some substitutions and distortions of consonants
• Consonants mastered: m, n, ing, w, h, p, b, t, d,
• Is approximately 70-80% intelligible

Receptive Language

• Comprehends approximately 900 words
• Listens to a 20 minute story
• Knows own sex and difference
• Knows in/on/under, big/little
• Matches colors
• Is cautious of common dangers
• Has complicated, sequenced routines for daily activities; objects to change

Expressive Language

• Expresses 500 intelligible words
• Answers 6-7 agent action questions… “What runs?”
• Answers simple “who, why, where, how many” questions
• Yes/no questions emerging
• Repeats sentences of six to seven syllables accurately

Grammar/Syntax

• Auxiliary “is/am + ing” (girl is running)
• Uses “is” + adjective (ball is red)
• Regular past-tense verbs appear (walk/walked)
• Uses “s” for possession (daddy’s car)
• Uses pronouns – I, me, you, mine (he and she are emerging)
• Negative “not” emerging
• Uses contracted form of “is” (he’s running)
• Uses imperatives (commands: go get it, don’t)
• Adverbs of location emerging (here, there)
• Understands “est” adjective marker (biggest)
• Comprehends third-person pronouns (he, she)
• Average phrase 3-4 words

Play

• Dramatization and imagination begin to encounter play
• Imitates drawing a circle/straight line
• Interest in combining play things
• Plays with others in small groups
• Names own drawing
• Watches cartoons on TV
• Builds tower of none blocks

Social Skills/Pragmatics

• Engages in dialogues increasing in length
• Expresses emotion
• Provides descriptive details
• Becomes interested in cooperative play

Articulation/Speech

• Pronounces final consonants of words most of the time
• Consonants mastered: m, n, ing, w, h, p, b, t, d, k, g, f
• Is approximately 80% intelligible

Receptive Language

• Comprehends approximately 1,200 words
• Knows “in front of” and “behind” when object with a logical front and back are used
• Identifies hard/soft, rough/smooth
• Identifies circle and square
• Responds to commands involving two actions or objects
• Can match colors
• Knows night and day

Expressive Language

• Uses/says approximately 800 words
• Responds appropriately to simple “how” questions
• Can answer two-three questions, “what do you do when you are hungry/sleepy/cold?”
• Beginning of question asking stage, mainly asks “what” and “who” questions
• Names 8 to 10 pictures
• States actions “I ran”
• Supplies the last word of a line, “the apple is on the…(tree)”
• Counts three objects, pointing to each
• Average sentence length is four to five words
• Follows basic commands with prepositional phrases “Put the block under the chair”

Grammar/Syntax

• Begins to use “is” at the beginning of a question
• Third-person singular present tense is emerging “he runs”
• Uses contracted forms of modals (won’t, can’t)
• Irregular plural forms emerging (child/children)
• Uses “are” with plural nouns (boys are running)
• Uses “and” as conjunction
• Regular plural forms are consistent
• Uses is, are and am in sentences

Play

• Begins to play cooperatively with other children
• Organizes doll furniture accurately and begins to use genuinely imaginative play
• Reenacts experienced events such as a birthday party, baking cookies
• Uses one object to represent another (stick = phone or sword)
• Assumes the role of another person (parent, doctor, teacher)
• Requests permission
• Begins using language for fantasies, jokes, teasing
• Corrects self, repairs conversation when others do not understand
• Corrects others
• Early story telling emerges

Articulation/Speech

• Consonants mastered: m, n, ing, w, h, p, b, t, d, k, g, y, f
• Is approximately 90% intelligible

Receptive Language

• Understands approximately 2800 words
• Points to red, blue, yellow and green
• Identifies crosses, triangles, circles, and squares
• Stays with one activity for 11-12 minutes
• Can follow a two-part unrelated command
• Knows most body parts
• Understands concepts of numbers up to 3
• Answers questions about object’s functions

Expressive Language

• Has a spoken vocabulary of approximately 900-2000 words
• Asks many questions although more interested in how answers fit his/her own thoughts rather than just the explanation
• Has a sentence length of 4-8 words
• Talks about experiences at school, at friends’ homes, etc
• Asks “who?” and why?”
• Begins to use complex sentences
• Uses contractions such as “it’s a” or “there’s a”
• Uses grammatically correct sentences
• Uses regular past tense correctly
• Uses plural forms correctly
• Can relate name and address along with age and gender

Basic Motor Milestones

• Pushes, pulls and steers wheeled toys
• Uses toilet independently
• Skips to music
• Releases objects with precision
• Draws circles, diamonds and crosses
• Enjoys cutting and pasting

Articulation/Speech

• Consonants mastered: m, n, w, h, ing, y, b, p, t, d, k, g, f, v, l, sh, ch, th, blends

Receptive Language

• Has a receptive vocabulary of approximately 20,000 words
• Sequences numbers
• Understands ‘left’ and ‘right’
• Understands most concepts of time
• Understands the meaning of most sentences

Expressive Language

• Defines objects by there uses (“you eat with a fork”)
• Asks ‘how’ questions
• Answers verbally to ‘hi’ and ‘how are you?’
• Uses past tense and future tense appropriately
• Uses conjunctions
• Names opposites
• Sequentially names days of the week
• Counts to 30 by rote
• Counts 10 objects
• Reduces sentence length to 4-6 words
• Exchanges information and asks questions
• Uses sentences with details
• Accurately relays a story
• Sings entire songs and recites nursery rhymes
• Communicates easily with adults and other children
• Uses appropriate grammar in most cases

Basic Motor Milestones

• Prints a few capital letters
• Builds complex structures with blocks
• Buttons clothes, washes face and puts toys away
• Reaches and grasps in one continuous movement
• Catches a ball with hands
• Makes precise marks with crayon, confining marks to a small area

Articulation/Speech

• Consonants mastered: m, n, w, h, ing, y, b, p, t, d, k, g, f, v, l, sh, ch, th, r, s, z, r-blends, s-blends, l-blends

Receptive Language

• Has a receptive vocabulary of approximately 20,000 words
• Understands ‘left’ and ‘right’
• Engages in conversations
• Understands most concepts of time

Expressive Language

• Names some letters, numbers and currencies
• Sequences numbers
• Uses increasingly more complex descriptions
• Uses a sentence length of approximately 6 words
• Recites the alphabet
• Counts to 100 by rote
• Uses most morphologic markers appropriately
• Uses passive voice appropriately

Basic Motor Milestones

• Shows reduced interest in writing and drawing
• Draws recognizable man, tree, and house
• Uses adult like writing, but it is slow and labored
• Draws pictures that are not proportional
• Colors within lines
• Indicates well established right or left handedness
• Dresses self completely
• Follows advanced rhythms