Office of Special Education
Speech and Language Development

By age 3...
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More
than half of a child's speech should be understandable to a "new"
listener.
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Children
should be making the following sounds: all vowels; p,b,m.
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Children
should be making short sentences.
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Children
should be asking simple questions.
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Children
should be following simple 2- step directions
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Children
should be using simple plurals and pronouns
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Most,
if not all, of a child's speech should be understandable to a "new"
listener.
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Children
should be making the following sounds: w,n,ng,d,t,g,k
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Children
should be speaking in sentences.
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Children
should be using most pronouns and plurals.
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Children
should be able to identify at least 6 colors.
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Children
should be making the following sounds: y,f,v,l
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Children
should be using past tense verbs
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Children
should be able to follow 2 and 3- step directions
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Children
should be able to listen to stories for 10-15 minutes
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Children
may be making the following sounds: s,z,th,sh,ch,zh,r. However, some
children may not be making all of these sounds.
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Children
should be speaking on longer and grammatically correct sentences.
How can
I tell if my child needs speech or language therapy?
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To identify speech and/ or language impairments, a child must be evaluated
by a speech/ language pathologist. During the evaluation, the clinician
will use both formal and informal tests to compare your child's abilities
to developmental "norms". While it depends upon the age
and needs of a child, an evaluation usually takes 1-2 hours. A comprehensive
speech and language evaluation will look at a child's articulation,
language, fluency, and voice.
How do
I contact a speech/ language clinician?
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If your child is school- age, there will be a speech language pathologist
assigned to their school. Contact your school for more information.
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If
your child is not yet enrolled in school, contact Child Find 410-887-3660
What are
Language Disorders?
Language disorders are marked by slowness or differences in the development
of language skills necessary for expressing ideas and for understanding
thoughts and ideas one hears or reads.
What is
a Speech/ Language Delay?