How to tell if your toddler needs
speech therapy?
Every child develops at their own pace, and that includes learning to speak. Yet, there are guidelines to help determine if there might be a problem, like a speech delay, or something more serious. Referring to these guidelines and milestones, speech language pathologists can determine if further testing, or online speech therapy services, may be recommended.
We’ve created an online quiz to help you determine which language milestones your child has achieved, or if you might want to consider consulting with a speech language pathologist about your child’s speech development. Click the link below to start the quiz:
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How old is your child? (Choose the closest age below.)
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Which of the below does your child do? (Select All That Apply)
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Does your little one do any of the below? (Check all that apply)
What should you, the parent, look for?
Listed here are some milestones which can help you gauge your child’s language progress:
By the end of 6 months, your child should:
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Smile at you
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Make cooing sounds
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Get quiet or smile when spoken to
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Seem as though they recognize a parent's voice
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Make different crying sounds for different needs
By the end of 12 months, your child should:
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Giggles and laughs
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Babble or make other sounds
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Use their voice to show pleasure/displeasure
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Look in the direction of sounds
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Respond to changes in tone of voice from an adult
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Pay attention to sounds made by objects/toys/music
By the end of 18 months, your child should:
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Attempt to imitate speech sounds
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Begin saying everyday words including, but not limited to, “mama,” “dada,” “doggie,” “baby,” and “go”
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Respond to simple directions, such as "Come here"
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Recognize common items, like "doggie"
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Look when you point
By the end of 24 months, your child should:
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Use P, B, M, H, and W in words
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Follow simple directions, like “give me the ball,” or “push the (toy) car”
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Put 2 words together when talking, or when asking questions, like “more apple,” or “where doggy?”
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Respond to simple questions, like “where is your hat?” or “who is that?”
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Name pictures in books, or point to them when you name what is in the picture
By their 3rd birthday, your child should:
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Use K, G, F, T, D, and N in words
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Ask “why?” and put 3 words together to talk
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Follow simple, but compound directions, like “get the spoon, and put it on the table”
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Say about 50 or more words, and be understood by others about 50% or more
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Talk about things that are not in the room
By their 4th birthday, your child should:
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Respond when you call from another room
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Answer simple “WH” questions, like who, what, and where
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Say plural words, and rhyming words, like “hat-cat”
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Understand words for family, like brother, grandmother, and aunt
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Talk about what happened during the day, and use about 4 sentences at a time
By their 5th birthday, your child should:
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Understand words for order, like first, next, and last
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Respond to “What did you say?”
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Follow longer sentences
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Use a variety of sentences when they speak
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Be understood by others almost all the time
For All Major Home Appliances
Does your child do the following? (Check all that apply)