Speech & Language
Developmental Milestones
Do you ever wonder if your child is reaching the speech/language/talking milestones at the appropriate age? Identifying a speech and/or language delay at a young age allows time for intervention and therapy with a speech-language pathologist.
Talking Milestones from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
7 Months to 1 Year
Babbling has both long and short groups of sounds such as “tata upup bibibibi”
Uses speech or noncrying sounds to get and keep attention
Uses gestures to communicate (waving, holding arms to be picked up)
Imitates different speech sounds
10 - 12 words (hi, dog, dada, mama) at 1 year, although sounds may not be clear
One to Two Years
Says more words every month
Uses some one- or two- word questions (“Where kitty?” “Go bye-bye?” “What’s that?”)
Puts two words together (“more cookie,” “no juice,” “mommy book”)
Uses many different consonant sounds at the beginning of words
300 words at age 2
Two to Three Years
Has a word for almost everything
Uses two- or three- words to talk about and ask for things
Often asks for or directs attention to objects by naming them
By age 3: Uses b, d, h, m, n, p, w, t, k, g, and f sounds. Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time
1,000 words by age 3
Three to Four Years
Talks about activities at school or at friends’ homes
People outside of the family usually understand child’s speech
Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words
Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words
By age 5: Uses ch, j, l, s, and sh sounds - By age 6: Uses r, v, and th sounds
This information represents, on average, the age by which most monolingual speaking children will accomplish the listed milestones. Children typically do not master all items in a category until they reach the upper age in each age range. Just because your child has not accomplished one skill within an age range does not mean your child has a disorder. Call New Orleans Speech and Hearing Center at 504-897-2606 to schedule an evaluation.
Resources for Parents - Websites and Apps
With the growing amount of information available on the internet, we encourage you to take a look at this resource page created with NOSHC parents in mind. Be sure to check out the website and app recommendations from your NOSHC speech-language pathologists, speech-language pathology assistants, and audiologists.
Speech-Language Pathology
Websites:
www.speakingofspeech.com- is the first and largest interactive forum for speech/language pathologists and teachers to improve communication skills in our schools by:
· exchanging ideas, techniques, materials, and lessons that work
· finding out about materials before you buy
· seeking and giving advice on therapy and caseload management issues
· exploring a myriad of helpful resource links.
www.apraxia-kids.org/ - Provides articles by speech-language pathologists, an e-mail discussion list, message board, newsletter, resources, book suggestions, news, and conference information.
mommyspeechtherapy.com/ - Mom and SLP that put together a blog to share some of the tips and techniques that have worked for her over the years in teaching kids to improve their speech and more effectively communicate.
www.Stutteringhelp.org - Nonprofit charitable organization working towards the prevention and improved treatment of stuttering. Provides free online resources, services, and support.
www.spellingcity.com/ - Teachingspelling and vocabulary is easy with Vocabulary SpellingCity! Students can study and learn their word lists using vocabulary and spellinglearning activities.
www.brainpop.com/ - BrainPOP animated education for kids in science, social studies, English, math, engineering, health, art and music.
www.ldonline.org –Learning disabilities online seeks to help children and adults reach their full potential by providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD.
www.asha.org - The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 166,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, speech, language, and hearing scientists, audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel, and students.
www.havefunteaching.com– Website with good printables for homework and therapy worksheets.
Apps:
http://www.virtualspeechcenter.com/MobileApps.aspx?url_entry=a4cwsn - Website with list of apps for speech and language therapy.
http://a4cwsn.com/ - Apps for Children with Special Needs is committed to helping the families and caregivers of children with special needs and the wider community of educators and therapists who support them, by producing videos that demonstrate how products designed to educate children and build their life skills really work from a user perspective.
http://speech-languageapps.com/ - App advice for speech-language pathologists, educators and parents.
http://www.speechlanguageneighborhood.com/ - Speech Language Neighborhood is the place for SLPs and parents to learn about using apps in speech and language therapy.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MvftHFkGRcnedFaBcyiGJOYgGrRTImuMpXHoe4L9FKM/edit?hl=en&authkey=CKqm2IIN - This is a resource document intended to comprise a comprehensive list of mobile apps (iOS, iPod, iPad, Android, Blackberry) that can be useful to SLPs. SLPs and parents can list their favorite apps on this google document.
App Recommendations from our staff (for the iPad) -
· Fun with Directions - has an emphasis on Early Direction Concepts, Language & Auditory Processing. 0.99c
· See Touch Learn - use See.Touch.Learn to build custom picture card lessons and automatically track your child’s responses. It was designed specifically for those with autism and other special needs. Free
· Gingerbread Maker - for fun direction following games. Free
· The Pizza Maker - for fun direction following games . Free
· EggZoo - After pointing several times on the iPad to follow an action word, an option pops up to say the command. When the iPad hears any form of the word, it performs the action as if they were touching it, encouraging the child to speak. Free
· Brain Pop– app version of brainpop.com, an animated education for kids in science, social studies, English, math, engineering, health, art, and music. Free
· Balloonimals- Highly motivating and also helps kids learn how to follow directions and learn cause/effect. $1.99
· Italk - great for recording your kids! Free
· Grover’s Numbers Special - stars the blue monster from Sesame Street in an interactive counting app that preschool kids will love. $2.99
· I Hear Ewe - Entertain and educate your toddler with this simple game full of 24 different authentic animal sounds and 12 different vehicle sounds. Free
· Shape Builder –Preschool learning puzzle game. 0.99c
· Voice machine - great for helping kids hear themselves using a slower voice, especially if they speak too quickly or stutter. Free
· Tic Tac Toe–great for turn-taking. Free
· Thereminator- an app based on a real musical instrument that sounds like a sci-fi movie. Great for showing loud and soft and high and low sounds. $2.99
· dB VolumeMeter- measure how loud sounds are in the environment. 0.99c
Other Apps:
Speech with Milo: Verbs (iPod/iPad universal, age 2-6)- Created by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist to build language skills in children. This app is focused on action words. Features an animated mouse that kids love. He demonstrates actions such as “running”, “hugging”, “skiing”. Instructions on app for parents and therapist. $2.99
Speech with Milo: Prepositions (iPod/iPad universal, age 2-6)- Created by a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist to build language skills in children. This app is focused on location words. Features the same animated mouse from the verbs app. Great in therapy. He demonstrates prepositions such as “beneath”,“around”, “above”. $1.99
Speech with Milo: Sequencing (iPod/iPad universal, age 2-6)- The app uses the same mouse, Milo, to engage the children to learn and participate in developing sequencing and story telling skills. The app comes with instructions for therapists and parents written by an SLP. There are also several settings to turn off hints, sound or text as each child may need something different. $2.99
(Spanish) Speech with Milo: Verbs (iPod/iPad universal, age 2-6)- A Spanish version of the Speech with Milo (Verbs) app noted above. $2.99
(Spanish) Speech with Milo: Prepositions (iPod/iPad universal, age 2-6)- A Spanish version of the Speech with Milo (Prepositions) app noted above. $1.99
Speech with Milo: Interactive Storybook (iPod/iPad universal, age 2-6)- Our newest app is the Interactive Storybook. This app is a book that allows the child to listen to the story or record their own story. Each page is rich with interactive features to keep your child entertained. The graphics on this app are fantastic- your child will love it. $1.99
Have more questions about speech language pathology and your child?
Here are some links to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) website:
What should I do if I think that my child may have a speech, language, or hearing problem?
What are Speech-Language Disorders and what can be done to help?
What is Language? What is Speech?
How does your child hear and talk?
Your Child’s Communication Development (K-5th)
Social Language Use (Pragmatics)
Learning More Than One Language