��Speech and Language Development of Preschool Children��By:�Laura Kunz, M.A., CCC-SLP�Lil’ Bears Preschool�North Royalton City School District�laura.kunz@northroyaltonsd.org

Speech and Language Development

‘Language’ and ‘Speech’ are skills that are often confused, but there are differences.

Language Development - this refers to a structure of communication combining how a person receives information in a meaningful way and how a person expresses themselves using verbal and non-verbal skills. 

• Receptive communication: identified by how much language a child understands  
• Expressive Communication: identified by how well a child communicates with others within the child's environment both verbally and socially

Speech Development – this refers to a person’s articulation within verbal expression of language.  

• Speech: identified by how a child produces specific sounds when speaking

As a child progresses in age, communication skills increase in complexity.

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Speech and Language Development Cont.

There are differences in speech and language skills, although these areas of communication may differ, they definitely overlap. For example, a child may be able to pronounce words clearly, but may have difficulty putting words and unable to use his/her language functionally. Another child may have a great understanding of the rules of language and be able to create grammatically correct sentences to express his/her thoughts, but may be difficult to understand. And another child may be able to clearly express his/her thoughts, but may demonstrate difficulty following adult directives/commands.

Receptive Communication

Infancy (birth to 1 year of age):

Important precursors for language development which occur during infancy would include:

• reaction to sounds and voices
• mouthing objects
• shaking and banging objects in play
• looking for objects which have fallen out of sight
• comprehending what is wanted when a person extends arms and says, “Come here”

Receptive Communication Cont.

Toddler (1 – 2 years of age):

• Interrupts an activity when his/her name is called
• Shows an understanding of words by looking at objects that are pointed to or named
• Responds to inhibitory words, such as ‘Stop’, ‘Wait’, ‘No’
• Is able to use objects appropriately showing an understanding of functional play
• Is able to use two objects together showing an understanding of relational play
• Is able to use objects towards themselves showing an understanding of self-directed play
• Is now able to follow familiar or routine directions with gestural cues

Receptive Communication Cont.

Toddler (2 – 3 years of age):

• Shows the ability to recognize a known object from a group of items
• Points to photographs of familiar objects
• Follows 1 step commands independently
• Points to body parts upon request
• Shows an understanding of action words
• Participates in pretend play opportunities
• Comprehends first person pronouns (I, me, my)

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Receptive Communication Cont.

Preschool Child (3 – 4 years of age):

• Participates in symbolic play (using one item to represent another item, i.e. using a rattle as a phone)
• Points to actions in pictures
• Shows an understanding of the use of objects and uses them appropriately
• Follows directives increasing in complexity from 1-2 step commands
• Follows directives to show an understanding of basic spatial concepts (i.e. in/out, on/off, top/bottom)
• Demonstrates an understanding of analogies (i.e. You sit in a chair, you sleep in a __)
• Shows comprehension of negatives in sentences (i.e. Show me the toy that is not in the box)

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Receptive Communication Cont.

Preschool Child (4 – 5 years of age):

• Points to colors upon request
• Demonstrates an understanding of complex spatial concepts (i.e. under, behind, next to, in front)
• Understands third person pronouns (i.e. he, she, his, her, they)
• Points to shapes upon request
• Demonstrates an understanding of expanding sentences (i.e. Point to the small blue ball in the box)

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Receptive Communication Cont.

Preschool Child (5 – 6 years of age):

• Points to letters upon request
• Shows understanding of basic quantity (numbers, sets of things in groups of 2,3,4)
• Comprehends complex sentences
• Beginning to demonstrate pre-literacy skills

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Expressive Communication

Infancy (birth to 1 year of age):

Important precursors for language development which occur during infancy would include:

• Vocalizes soft sounds
• Cries vary in pitch, length, and/or volume
• Becomes aware of a speaker and will smile
• Vocalizes happiness and sadness
• Begins to vocalize when spoken to, moving arms and legs
• Shows protest vocally
• Babbling and cooing
• Imitation of facial movements
• Produces different vowel sounds vocally
• Beginning to combine sounds to create words

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Expressive Communication Cont.

Toddler (1 – 2 years of age):

• Beginning to say first words
• By age 1 verbal vocabulary is around 12 words
• Takes turns during vocal play
• Uses gestures to communicate (i.e. waves hi/bye)
• Imitates words
• Initiates turn taking games
• Using different consonant and vowel sounds
• Expanding verbal vocabulary, by age 2 a child has a vocabulary of 200-300 words

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Expressive Communication Cont.

Toddler (2- 3 years of age):

• Uses gestures and/or words to request items
• Uses joint attention during interactive activities
• Verbally identifies objects in pictures
• Uses words more often than gestures when communicating needs/wants
• Is now using verbal words for a variety of pragmatic functions
• Using words to gain a person’s attention
• Using words to make wants and needs known
• Using words to request assistance
• Using words to answer basic yes/no, what, where type questions
• Using words to identify objects and actions
• Using words to request repetition of an activity of interest
• Is beginning to use different word combinations and making 2-3 word phrases/sentences
• Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time
• Verbal vocabulary has increased to 900-1,000 words

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Expressive Communication Cont.

Preschool Child (3 - 4 years of age):

• Expanding sentences to 3-4 words in spontaneous conversation
• Is now using a variety of nouns, verbs, pronouns, and descriptive words in spontaneous speech
• Using grammatical markers, such as, ‘ing’ verb forms, plurals, and possessives
• Talks about activities at school or home
• Engages in conversational turn taking with those within their environment
• A child is understood by people outside the family
• Verbal vocabulary has expanded to 1,500-1,600 words

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Expressive Communication Cont.

Preschool Child (4 – 5 years of age):

• Able to name an item after hearing its description
• Answers questions logical/hypothetical questions
• Tells how an object is used
• Uses spatial concepts appropriately
• Communicates without difficulty with peers and adults
• Verbal vocabulary has expanded to 2,100-2,200 words

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Expressive Communication Cont.

Preschool Child (5 – 6 years of age):

• Is now getting ready for or starting Kindergarten
• Responds appropriately to why questions
• Names letters
• Names categories
• Uses possessive pronouns his and hers
• Answers questions about pictures using grammatically correct sentences
• Verbal vocabulary has expanded to 2,600 words, but receptively can understand 20,000-24,000 words

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Social/Pragmatic Use of Language

• A child is able to use greetings appropriately
• A child is able to direct their attention to something of interest
• A child is able to use gestures or words to gain your attention
• A child is able to talk about what he/she is doing
• A child is able to play with those in his/her environment
• A child is able to answers when spoken to
• A child is able to ask questions
• A child is able to talk about a recent event or experiences by volunteering information or answering questions
• A child is able to talk about objects within his/her environment
• A child is able to maintain a conversation for several exchanges
• A child is able to use his/her language to interact with another person
• A child is able to repeat or reword messages he/she doesn’t understand

Articulation

Articulation is the way a child produces specific sounds of speech. Learning to speak is a process that develops gradually from infancy to 7 or 8 years of age. There are differences in the age at which children master particular speech sounds. It is important to remember that learning to produce a speech sound correctly in all words and phrases is a gradual process. It is common for children not to produce all speech sounds correctly until age 7 or 8.

Articulation Cont.

The following list provides a general age range of development of sounds:

BY AGE: CHILDREN HAVE MASTERED THESE SOUNDS

3 ½ p, m, h, n, w, b, and vowels

4 ½ k, g, d, t, ng, y

5 ½ f, v

6 ½ sh, ch, j, l

7 ½ s, z, th, r

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Warning Signs Indicating Possible Speech or Language Delays by age 3

• Has difficulty following simple directions
• Has difficulty showing an understanding of basic commands
• Isn’t playing with toys or items within his/her environment appropriately
• Isn’t interacting socially with his/her peers
• Has difficulty following routine directives
• Has difficult following commands increasing in complexity from 1-2 steps
• Has difficulty pointing to objects/items labeled by an adult
• Has difficulty following directives containing spatial concepts
• Has difficulty imitating or repeating sounds/words
• Is difficult to understand
• Has difficult using words for a variety of pragmatic functions
• Isn’t using words to request needs/wants
• Isn’t using words to request assistance
• Isn’t using words to label items within the environment
• Isn’t using words to respond to basic yes/no, what, or where questions
• Has a limited vocabulary

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Ways to Help Your Child Develop Good Language Skills:

• Talk while doing things, this helps build vocabulary
• Use clear simple speech that will be easy for your child to imitate
• Use simple sentences to show proper grammatically correct sentences
• Use simple directives for your child to understand commands/directives
• Expand on words
• Continue to read to your child, have your child point to pictures to help expand understanding of vocabulary and have your child name pictures to expand verbal vocabulary
• Name objects and describe their function
• Ask basic yes/no, what or where questions
• Sing songs, recite nursery rhymes and play age appropriate board games (i.e. Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory games)
• Have your child talk about their day or recent experiences

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Ways to Help Your Child Develop Good Articulation Skills:

• Be a good speech model for your child. Don’t use baby talk.
• Pronounce words clearly, slowly and correctly for your child to hear and imitate.
• Try to look at your child when you are talking.
• Let your child watch your face, lips and tongue as you form sounds and words, and at times, prolong the speech sound your child is having difficulty with (for example if /s/ is the error sound you may want to say, “Where is your ssssock?”).
• Repeat new words and sounds over and over. Use them often in your conversation with your child.
• Make a scrapbook with your child, cut out and paste pictures of objects of any new vocabulary your child learns to say or recognizes.
• Praise your child when sounds are correct, especially if the sounds were previously difficult for them to say.

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What to do if you are concerned about your child’s communication development:

• Talk to your pediatrician
• Contact a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist for an assessment of communication skills
• If your child is three years of age, you can contact your local school district. The district can help determine if your child may qualify for services in the area of speech-language delay.

References

• NCS Pearson, Inc. Preschool Language Scales-5 (PLS-5)
• http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/12.htm
• Pro-ed
• Medical Library – The American Medical Association Medem.com
• Delayed Speech or Language Development; Kidshealth.org