milestones
All children develop skills at different paces.
These are average milestone at ages up to 5 years old:
By 12 Months:
Says first Meaningful word
(usually coincides with a clear index finger point)
Begins to associate a word with a meaningful object like “mama”, “bye bye”
Starts to point at objects and people
Imitates sounds and some words

By 18 Months:
20 word vocabulary
Can refer to himself by name
Uses items with its intended function (ex. Tries to talk on the
telephone or bang a drum)
Begins to use words like “mine”and “hi”

By 24 Months:
Has a 200-300 word vocabulary
Can name common objects
Uses 2 word sentences (ex. Want juice)
Roll plays and imitates (ex. May pretend to be mommy vacuuming)
Likes to have attention on him
Can feed himself with a spoon
Gives a toy when asked		 By 3 Years:
Can use 3 word phrases
Has 900-1000 word vocabulary
Plays make-believe
Talks about events happening in the present
Takes turns
Will bring toys to adults and peers to play with
Asking questions like “What’s that?”
Matches some colors and understands concepts
such as “big” and “little”

By 4 Years:
Has 1500 word vocabulary
Uses more complex sentences
Can name colors and numbers up to 5 with relative ease
Can follow some directions with prepositions
Can tell a recounting story

By 5 Years:
Can talk about feelings
Can follow multistep directions
Has very accurate grammar
Enjoys playing with peers in groups
Asks higher level wh-questions like “why” and “who”
Is able to make up imaginative stories
Download a pdf of this chart. Click here.
Development of the Preschool Child
AGE SPEECH

Articulation error occur when Children substitute, omit, or distort speech sounds. No two children learn the various speech sounds at exactly the same age. Some master them earlier than indicated, others take longer. The vowel sounds are the very first to appear and are usually mastered before age 3.

 LANGUAGE

A system used for communication among people. It includes understanding and using speech, thinking and reasoning, expressing thoughts and feelings. It is important to identify differences/delays, as well as apparent causes, because they serve as the basis for planned early stimulation and for specific intervention.

Sounds: p, m, n

uses stress and intonational patterns

 • follows 2 simple requests (e.g. "get your hat and put it on the table.")

• enjoys being read to

• points to pictures of familiar objects in a book
Sounds: t, p, m, n

able to do some sound blending

 • comprehends 500 words

• listens to 5-10 minute story

• asks "what" & "why" questions
Sounds: k, g, f, d, b, h, w

repeats melody patterns

 • answers simple "who"' "why"' "where", "how many" questions

• yes/no concept emerging

• understands meaning of big/little, over/under, few/many
Sounds: s, sh, j, ch, z, ng

differentiates likeness/differences of sounds in similar words

 • responds to directions involving 2-3 actions

• uses 1000-15000 words

• tells about recent events
Sounds: r, l, v

understood by others outside family

 • responds same/different

• answers "when" questions

• beginning to order & sequence events

• answers questions about past, present, & future
Download a pdf of this chart. Click here.

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