SPEECH & LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT SCALE

Below is a list of conditions that may alert you to speech and hearing problems in your older child:

1.		Child does not talk at all by age two.
2.		Child's speech is largely unintelligible after the age of three.
3.		Child leaves off many beginning consonants after the age of three.
4.		Child does not use two to three word sentences by the age of three.
5.		Child uses mostly vowel sounds in his or her speech.
6.		Child leaves off word endings after the age of five.
7.		Child's sentence structure is noticeably faulty at the age of five.
8.		Child is embarrassed and disturbed by his or her speech at any age.
9.		Child is noticeably unable to talk after the age of six.
10.		Child sounds like he or she is talking through his or her nose; often appears to have a stuffy nose.
11.		Child's voice is too high or too low for a child of the same age and sex.
12.		Child's voice is too loud, too soft, monotone or of a poor quality.

Age Hearing and Understanding Talking  Birth Listens to speech. Cries or startles at noises. Awakens at loud sounds. Coos or giggles.  3 months Turns toward a speaker. Smiles when spoken to. Stops playing and appears to listen to sounds or speech. Seems to recognize parent's voices. Babbles, cries differently for different needs. Repeats the same sounds often.  6 months Responds to "no" and his/her name. Notices and looks for source of new sounds. Turns head toward the side where sound is coming from. Babbling resembles parent's speech, only not clear. Makes different sounds. 9-12 months Responds to requests — "Come here." "Do you want more?" Says two to three words (words may not be clear). Enjoys imitating sounds. Uses jargon; uses voice to get attention. 1-2 years Follows two requests — "Get the ball and put it on the table." Says 10 to 15 words by age two. Sometimes repeats requests. Asks one or two word questions - "Where kitty? "Go bye-bye?" Puts two words together - "More cookie." 2-4 years Understands conversation easily. Hears when you call from another room. Hears television or radio at the same volume level as other family members. Understands differences in meaning (go-stop). Identifies objects in a book by pointing to them when they are named. Notices sound — dogs barking, telephone ringing. Says most sounds except perhaps "r" "s" "th" and "I". Sometimes repeats words in a sentence. Uses 200 to 300 words. Uses two to three word sentences. Asks many "why" and "what" questions. Jargon and repeating disappears. Child enjoys naming things. 5 years Hears and understands most speech in the home. Hears and answers when called. Hears quiet speech. Teachers, babysitters, grandparents report no suspicions of hearing problem in your child. Says all sounds correctly except perhaps "s" and "th". Uses the same sentence structure as other family members. Voice sounds as clear as other children's.

Fact sheet