What is a Childhood Language Disorder?

Uses and understands at least 50 different words for food, toys, animals, and body parts. Speech may not always be clear—like du for “shoe” or dah for “dog.”

 Puts two or more words together—like more water or go outside.

 Follows two-step directions—like “Get the spoon, and put it on the table.”

 Uses words like me, mine, and you.

 Uses words to ask for help.

 Uses possessives, like Daddy’s sock.

Frequently uses word combinations but may occasionally repeat some phrases, such as "baby – baby – baby sit down" or "I want – I want juice."

Seeks your attention by saying, "Look at me!"

Responds with their name when asked.

Uses some plural forms like "birds" or "toys."

Employs –ing verbs like "eating" or "running," and adds –ed to verbs to indicate past actions, such as "looked" or "played."

Provides reasons for things and events, for example, saying they need a coat when it's cold.

Asks questions like "why" and "how."

Answers questions such as “What do you do when you are sleepy?” or “Which one can you wear?”

Correctly pronounces the sounds p, b, m, h, w, d, and n in words.

Pronounces most vowel sounds accurately.

Speech is becoming clearer but may still be difficult to understand for unfamiliar listeners or people who do not know your child well.

Compares objects using words like "bigger" or "shorter."

Tells you stories from books or videos.

Understands and uses more location words such as "inside," "on," and "under."

Uses articles like "a" or "the" when speaking, as in "a book" or "the dog."

Pretends to read alone or with others.

Recognizes signs and logos like "STOP."

Pretends to write or spell and can write some letters.

Correctly pronounces the sounds t, k, g, f, y, and –ing in words.

Says all the syllables in a word.

Produces the sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of words.

By age 4 years, speaks smoothly and does not repeat sounds, words, or phrases most of the time.

By age 4 years, speaks clearly enough that most people can understand them, though they may still make errors on sounds that develop later, like l, j, r, sh, ch, s, v, z, and th.

By age 4 years, pronounces all sounds in consonant clusters with two or more consonants in a row, like the "tw" in "tweet" or the "-nd" in "sand," but may not produce all sounds perfectly, for example, saying "spway" for "spray."

Produces grammatically correct sentences that are longer and more complex.

Includes main characters, settings, and uses words like "and" to connect information and ideas to tell stories.

Uses at least one irregular plural form, such as "feet" or "men."

Understands and uses location words like "behind," "beside," and "between."

Correctly uses more words for time, such as "yesterday" and "tomorrow."

Follows simple directions and rules to play games.

Can locate the front of a book and identify its title.

Recognizes and names 10 or more letters and can usually write their own name.

Imitates reading and writing from left to right.

Blends word parts, such as "cup" + "cake" = "cupcake," and identifies some rhyming words like "cat" and "hat."

Produces most consonants correctly, making speech understandable in conversation.