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Early Intervention Speech Therapy
Speech and language disorders
Speech Therapy For Autism
Reading and Language Development
- Reading and reading books to kids is great for their language. Sign up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a free resource where children from birth to five years old receive a free book each month at no cost to the parent.
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Does your child need speech therapy?
Every child develops on their own timeline, but catching potential speech hurdles early is important. Use these speech and language milestones as a guide, but when in doubt, reach out for a professional assessment!
Age
Milestone
0 – 3 Months
- Reacts to loud sounds
- Recognizes familiar voices
- Expresses with cries and coos – like “ooooo,” “aahh,” “mmmmm”)
- Has different cries for different needs
4 – 6 Months
- Follows sounds with eyes
- Reacts to toys with bells or music
- Begins babbling with consonant-vowel combos – like “ba-ba,” and “da-da”)
7 Months – 1 Year
- Stops for a moment when hearing “No”
- Responds to simple requests – like “Look at mommy”
- Uses gestures like pointing and waving
- Tries to imitate different speech sounds
- Says one or two words by first birthday – like “mama,” “dada,” or “bye”
1 – 2 Years
- Identifies a few parts of the body
- Follows simple commands – like “Give me the ball,” or “Come here”
- Enjoys simple stories, songs, and rhymes
- Experiences a vocabulary explosion, learning new words daily
- Begins combining words into two-word phrases
2 – 3 Years
- Names almost everything
- Forms longer two- or three-word phrases
- Speaks understandably to family and friends
- Uses words to ask for an object
3 – 4 Years
- Answers simple “Who?” “What?” “Where?” and “Why?” questions
- Constructs sentences with four or more words
- Speaks fluently without repeating syllables or words
4 – 5 Years
- Tells stories and stays on topic
- Communicates easily with other children and adults
- Uses rhyming words
- Applies adult grammar