Do you have, or know,
a preschool child, ages 3 - 5? Have you ever wondered whether his or
her speech or language development
is age-appropriate, or what to do if you have concerns in these areas?
Parents, as their
children’s major communication partners, are often first to notice a delay
in speech or language development. They may wonder about the difference
between “speech” and “language,” what a child of their child’s age should
be doing, and at what point they should begin to follow up on concerns.
Speech is the production
of speech sounds that make up words and sentences. Language refers to the
use of words and sentences to convey ideas, desires, and feelings. Each
of these is a rule-based system that is often learned naturally as
children listen to the speech and language of the adult and peer models
around them.
Speech and language milestones for 3-5
year olds include learning to carry on a conversation, ask and answer
questions, follow and give directions, and speak alone when with a group.
More specifically, children between 3-4 are typically becoming more
intelligible (able to make their speech understood by others),
understanding 1200–2000 words, using 800-1500 words, beginning to use
pronouns accurately (I, he, she, you, me, mine), and beginning to use
correct sentence order for asking questions (“Is that mine?). Between
ages 4 and 5, children typically understand a greater number of basic
concepts (above, below, top, bottom, heavy/light, loud/soft, etc.), use
most common sounds consistently and accurately although sometimes not in
all positions in words, and so on.
Perhaps a simpler way of identifying children who should be evaluated for
speech or language difficulties is to look for factors and behaviors that
are common in children with these issues. Factors that may contribute to
suspecting such delays include:
1.
Frequent ear infections
or a long hospital stay (6 months or more)
2.
Your child
is not easily understood by adults and children outside the
the immediate family
3. Child expresses
frustration when trying to communicate
4. Delay
of one year or more in developing speech and language skills.
Look
for these concerns in your child:
Three-year-old:
·
Says only one or two words at a time
·
Cannot answer “who” or “what” questions
·
Speech only understandable when context is known
·
Seems to “tune out” what others say
·
Speaks only when spoken to
·
Needs gestures or visual cues to follow directions
·
Repeats what others say rather than responding to questions
Four-year-old:
·
Uses only 2-3 word phrases; poor word order
·
Cannot answer simple “what,” “where,” or “why” questions
·
Sentences or words are jumbled and disordered
·
Only speaks to others when prodded, then speaks as little as possible
·
Does not respond to simple two-step directions (e.g., “Go to the
kitchen and bring me
a spoon
·
Cannot listen to two or three lines of a story and answer simple
questions about what was read
Five-year-old:
·
Talks in only 3-4 word sentences about present events
·
Cannot answer questions about “yesterday” or “tomorrow”
·
Poor articulation still a problem; speech is unclear
·
Talks a great deal but remarks are irrelevant to the situation
·
Has trouble listening to a story of more than 4-5 sentences without
“tuning out”
If any of these
factors exist, a speech-language evaluation is strongly recommended.
The most effective approach to ensuring your child's success in school is
to identify and improve weak skills prior to that first day of
Kindergarten. The earlier that needs are identified, the greater the
window of opportunity for effectively remediating or compensating for
them.
If you would like
further information regarding speech-language development or would like to
discuss any concerns you may have, you are welcome to contact the district
speech-language pathologists, Casey Walsh or Kelly Fletcher, at 279-4600
ext. 1033.
