As a guide it is recommended that a referral is made to SLT if the child is unable to do one or more of the following:
0-1 YEARS
- Will show interest in the world around them, by looking around at familiar faces
- Uses facial expression and eye contact in response to familiar people
- Will respond to sounds in environment e.g. phone/doorbell
- Will use their voice for different communication needs (e.g. hunger, happiness)
- By 9 months is beginning to understand single words within daily routine such as ‘milk’ when bottle is presented
- Will make some sounds during play and in response to an adult e.g. ‘baba’
1-2 YEARS
- Will stop & look when their name is called
- Will point to objects of interest & might try to ask for them by making speech sounds
- Starting to understand single words & can follow commands such as ‘get your shoes’
- Child understands many more words (approx 500) than they will attempt to say
- Attempts at single words developing with 10-50 words, gradually over the year, that family can understand (although it might be hard for unfamiliar people to understand)
- May start to combine words e.g. ‘bye daddy’
2-3 YEARS
- Should be able to stop what they’re doing & listen to an adult, with a prompt
- Can concentrate for 5 minutes
- Can follow commands with two or more key words (objects) e.g. give me dolly and the book
- Can identify body parts by name on self, family & toys e.g. ‘where’s teddy’s nose?’
- Uses a range of single words (approx 50) with a range of speech sounds-see ‘Speech Sounds’ chart
- Will use wide range of vocabulary, extending beyond basic needs to include familiar animal names, clothes, transport etc.
- Will participate in ‘conversation’ with another, although jargon (nonsense) speech may be used. Using 2-3 words together
- Is beginning to use a range of questions & makes requests e.g. food, drink, toilet
3-4 YEARS
- Will stop & look when their name is called. Can stop to listen to directions from an adult but needs help to do this
- Beginning to understand concepts such as, size, position and colours e.g. put the big doll under the box, put the blue pencil on the chair
- Can identify objects by their use e.g. ‘which one do we eat?’
- Understands instructions with 3 key words e.g. ‘give the ball and book to dolly’
- Answers questions with ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘where’
- Asks questions with ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘where’
- Uses sentences with 3-4 words
- Uses approx 500-1000words
- A range of sounds are emerging within speech production, please refer to the ‘Speech Sounds’ Chart
4-5 YEARS
- Can change focus of attention without help e.g. can play with toy and watch TV
- Can play in groups
- Beginning to understand more complex concepts, such as, long/short, hot/cold, full/empty
- Understands questions relating to past experiences, e.g. ‘what did you do at nursery today?’
- Beginning to use and understand he/she
- Uses 4-6 word sentences
- Past events marked but tenses maybe confused e.g. ‘I goed to the park’
- Understands and can reconstruct a story sequence from a book
- Speech is much clearer and most people will understand what the child says (see Speech Sounds Development)