Speech and Language Information and Developmental Milestones
Articulation: This is referring to the actual sounds the child makes when he is speaking. The sounds that make up an individual word.
ARTICULATION DEVELOPMENTAL CHART
Students who are in kindergarten (under age 6) should be able to say the following sounds in all positions of words:
p – (pie, apples, cup) k – (cat, crackers, cake)
m – (monkey, hammer, comb) g – (gum, wagon, egg)
w – (witch, flowers) t – (table, potatoes, hat)
h – (hanger) f – (fork, elephant, knife)
b – (book, baby, bathtub) ng – (hanger, swing)
d – (dog, ladder, bed) dg – (jars, angels, orange)
n – (nails, bananas, can) y – (yes, thank you)
Students who are in first grade (under age 7) should be able to say all of the sounds in the first list plus:
sh – (shoe, station, fish) v – (vacuum, TV, glove)
l – (lamp, balloons, bell) ch – (chair, matches, sandwich)
Students who are in second grade (under age 8) should be able to say all the sounds in the first two lists plus:
s – (saw, pencil, house) l blends – (blocks, clock, flag)
s blends – (spoon, skates, stars) voiced th – (this, feathers, bathe)
z – (zipper, scissors, keys) r blends – (brush, crayons, train)
Students who are in third grade (under age 9) should be able to say all the sounds in the first three lists plus:
unvoiced th – (thumb, toothbrush, teeth) vowel r – (bird)
r – (radio, carrots, car)
Students who are in fourth grade or higher (9 years and up) should be able to say all speech sounds mentioned on this page. However, please note that the law indicates that articulation skills must impact educational performance before a child can qualify for services.
Language: Language takes a variety of forms. It includes spoken words, sign language, written language, and body language. Language is a "code" for expression through various signals or symbols. The purpose of language is to communicate with others and yourself.
-Receptive language: Relates to the comprehension of language.
-Expressive language: Relates to the actual production of words, symbols or gestures.
NORMAL VS DISORDERED LANGUAGE SKILLS
When determining normal from disordered language skills, compare the child to his/her normally developing peers in the following areas:
Receptive Language Skills
1. Does the child fail to grasp explanations?
2. Does the child have difficulty following directions and class discussions?
3. Does the child have a poor listening vocabulary?
4. Does the child have difficulty retaining what is read or told to him?
5. Does the child have poor comprehension of time and space concepts (such as front/back, yesterday/today)?
Expressive Language Skills
1. Does the child have difficulty using grammatical forms including:
· verb tenses and verb forms
· pronouns
· complete sentences
· proper word order in a sentence
2. Does the child have difficulty expressing ideas relating to a subject?
3. Does the child seem to have a low vocabulary?
4. Is the child non-verbal and you do not believe it is due to shyness?
5. If the child tells you a story/ event on the playground, do you have trouble following the story?
Evaluating the child's skills in regards to these questions will help determine if a child is functioning where they should be according to their age.
Fluency: Related to "stuttering" or "stammering" or cluttering". It deals with the smoothness of the child's speech. For example:
Prolongations- "Hiiiiiiiii Ms. Maaaaxwell."
Repetitions- "Hi, hi, hi Ms. Maxwell."
Blocks- "H---Hi Ms. Maxwell."
Voice: Relates to the quality of the child's voice. If the child demonstrates a high/low pitch, high/low tone, hoaseness, etc.