• Developmental Milestones for Speech and Language
     
    oral motor
     
    Two - Three years
     
    -knows about 50 words at 24 months
    -knows some spatial concepts such as "in" and "on"
    -knows pronouns such as "you," "me," "her"
    -knows descriptive words such as "big," "happy"
    -says around 40 words at 24 months
    -speech is becoming more accurate but may still leave off ending sounds.
    strangers may not be able to understand much of what is said
    -answers simple questions
    -begins to use more pronouns such as "you," "I"
    -speaks in two-to-three word phrases
    -uses question inflection to ask for something (e.g. "my ball?")
    -begins to use plurals such as "socks" or "shoes" and
    regular past tense verbs such as "jumped"
     
    Three-Four years
     
    -groups objects such as food, clothes, etc.
    -identifies colors
    -uses most speech sounds but may distort some of the more difficult sounds such as l,r,s,sh,ch,y,v,z,th
    (may not fully master these sounds until age 7 or 8)
    -uses consonants in the beginning, middle and end of words.
    some of the more difficult consonants may be distorted, but attempts to say them
    -strangers are able to understand much of what is said
    -able to describe the use of objects such as "fork" or "car"
    -has fun with language; enjoys poems and recognizes language absurdities, such as "is that an elephant on your head?"
    -expresses ideas and feelings rather than just talking
    about the world around him or her
    -uses verbs that end in "ing," such as "walking," "talking"
    -answers simple questions such as "what do you do when you are hungry?"
    -repeats sentences
     
     
    Developmental information from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communciation Disorders