Website FAQs - Edinburgh Speech Therapist

Some parents find it difficult to know what they should expect from their child and may worry that their child is not talking yet or is difficult to understand.

At Edinburgh Speech Therapy we have years of experience working with children with speech problems (difficulties saying specific sounds or sounds getting mixed up), and language problems (understanding and using words). There is some conflicting advice out there for parents so what is normal? What should we expect? Although all children are different

General guidelines are provided;

Age: 12 months

Understands

Can recognise and point to objects such as toys & people.

Uses

Babbling changes and they will now use more consonant sounds and first words will start to appear.

Age: 1-2 years

Understands

Can point to pictures in books when you name them, point to simple body parts on themselves and understand some doing words (go, jump, sit etc.) as well as follow simple requests (e.g., ‘Give me your cup’’) or commands (e.g., “No hitting!”) and understand little questions (e.g., ‘Where are your hands?’)

Uses

Starts using simple two word sentences e.g. ‘what’s that?’ or ‘more biscuits?’

Age: 2-3 years

Understands

Is able to follow two-part instructions (‘Get your shoes and put them on the stairs’)

Uses

Should be putting two or three words together in short simple sentences ‘daddy home’, ‘give me teddy’, ‘mum push me’ to talk about their environment and ask for things. Vocabulary is exploding at this age.

Age: 3-4 years

Understands

Understand ‘what?, ‘where?’ and ‘who?’ questions.

Uses

Can use longer sentences of up to four words and talk about things they do outside the home.

Age: 4-5 years

Understands

Is able to understand almost everything that is said in familiar places.

Uses

Can use long sentences describing what they have done and describing imaginative sequences.

Age: 5+ years

Understands

Understands almost everything that is said.

Uses

Communicates effectively with adults and children they know.

Children’s speech (the way we say words) does not sound the same as an adult’s. Typically we would expect that parents would find by;

18 months a child’s speech is normally 25% intelligible

24 months you should understand 50 -75% of what your child says

36 months a child’s speech is normally 75-100% intelligible

As children learn to talk, they become easier to understand. Although there are variations in acquisition of speech sounds if your child is significantly more difficult to understand than children of the same age they may require some help.

Although parents may be worried that their child’s speech and language development is slower than normal they may not know if they should seek help. Often family members and friends advise against it to reassure parents or people think the child will ‘get better’ by themselves. Catching speech and language difficulties early in children can prevent problems from developing including literacy skills, trouble understanding and using language, difficult and challenging behaviours as a result of not being understood and problems relating to and getting along with other people. No child is too young for a communication skills assessment as these can be done through the use of informal assessment, observing and playing with children and talking to parents. You know your child best so trust your own instincts and if you are concerned about your child seek help.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s communication development contact your GP to ask for advice. Edinburgh Speech Therapy would recommend parents seek a referral to a Speech and Language Therapist who can further evaluate difficulties and access services for input from a professional.