Developmental Speech Milestones
Understanding your child’s speech and language development can help you support their communication skills as they grow. While every child develops at their own pace, these milestones serve as a general guideline for what to expect at different ages. Some children may reach milestones earlier or later than others, and that’s okay! The important thing is to notice steady progress over time. If you ever have concerns about your child’s speech sound or word development, or if you’d like more information on how to support their language growth, reach out to request more information!
12 Months
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-Speech Sounds: Babbling with a variety of of consonants (e.g., /m/, /b/, /d/). May attempt simple words.
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-Words: says 1-3 words meaningfully (e.g., “mama,” “dada,” “ball”).
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3 Years
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-Speech Sounds: Uses k, g, f, t, d, and ng. Speech is understood 75% of the time.
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-Words: Uses 200-1,000 words. Forms 3-4 word sentences. Begins using question words (“what,” “where”).
6 Years
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-Speech Sounds: most sounds are mastered, though some children may still have trouble with “th” and “r.”
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-Words: vocabulary expands rapidly (up to 10,000 words). Uses detailed sentences and explains thoughts clearly.
18 Months
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-Speech Sounds: Producing more consonant-vowel combinations, some words may still be unclear.
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-Words: Has about 10-20 words, including nouns and common requests. Begins combining gestures with words.
4 Years
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-Speech Sounds: produces most consonants correctly but may still struggle with s, sh, ch, th, r, and l.
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-Words: Has around 1,500 words. Uses longer sentences (4-5 words). Tells short stories and asks many questions.
2 Years
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-Speech Sounds: Uses p, b, m, d, n, h
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-Words: says 1-3 words meaningfully (e.g., “mama,” “dada,” “ball”).
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5 Years
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-Speech Sounds: can say most sounds correctly, but may still have difficulty with r, th, and blends (e.g., “sp,” “tr”).
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-Words: knows about 2,000 words. Uses complex sentences and correct grammar most of the time.