If you are a parent, it is good to be familiar with the basic benchmarks for hearing, speech, and language development as a child gets older. The benchmarks serve as guidelines for pediatricians and other health and education professionals with which to monitor the child’s progress or delay, and offer help if necessary. In this second post of a three-part series, I will cover the basic benchmarks for toddlers.

The acquisition of speech, hearing, and language skills in children is generally more active when the brain is rapidly maturing, from birth to three years old. Of course, while children vary in the way they react to their environment, researchers have noted a natural “timetable” of emerging communication activities. Here are just a few of the second- and third-year milestones:

1 to 2 Years Old

  • Points to a few body parts when asked to, and points to pictures in a book when named.
  • Follows simple commands and understands simple questions (e.g., “Catch the ball,” or “Where’s your sock?”).
  • Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes.
  • Says more words every month.
  • Uses some one- or two-word questions (for example, “Where doggie?” or “Go bye-bye?”).
  • Puts two words together (e.g., “more cookie,” or “no juice”).
  • Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

2 to 3 Years Old

  • Understands differences in meaning, such as in “go” and “stop,” “big” and “little,” and “up” and “down.”
  • Follows two requests (e.g., “Get the cup and put it on the table”).
  • Listens to and enjoys hearing stories for longer periods of time.
  • Has a word for almost everything, and uses two or three words to talk about and ask for things.
  • Produces k, g, f, t, d, and n sounds.
  • Speech is understood by family members most of the time.
  • Often asks for or directs attention to objects by naming them.
  • May stutter on words or sounds (at this age, this is considered “normal disfluency”).

If You Have Concerns

If you have any concerns about your child’s hearing, speech, or language development, you should speak to your child’s pediatrician, who may refer you to a speech-language pathologist (SLP). The SLP will first speak to you about your child’s overall activities and specific verbal and gestural behaviors, and then can suggest different play and social activities to help your child further develop his or her listening and speaking skills.

In the third and final post of this series, I will describe the continuing communication development of young school-age children.

For More Information

For more information, you may visit the following websites. In addition, the Mount Sinai Health System provides speech-language pathology services at multiple hospital locations.

To find an excellent doctor who is right for you, please call our Physician Referral Service at 866.804.1007.

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