Choose your child's age. You will see what is typical at that age and what is worth raising with a speech therapist. It takes two minutes and needs no sign-up.
This is not a diagnosis and does not replace an assessment. Children develop at different rates, and not matching this list does not mean something is wrong. If something worries you - whatever it says here - call.
Child's age
Usual at this age
Responds to their name and understands "no"
Says one or two words, such as "mama" or "dada"
Points to show you something
Waves goodbye and copies simple gestures
Babbles with varied syllables - "ba-ba-da"
Worth asking about if
Does not respond when called by name
Does not point or use gestures
Makes no consonant sounds
Does not seek eye contact
Usual at this age
Uses between 10 and 20 words
Points to body parts when asked
Follows a simple request without you gesturing
Tries to copy words they hear
Worth asking about if
Uses fewer than 5 words
Does not point to show you something interesting
Does not understand simple requests
Has stopped using words they previously said
Usual at this age
Vocabulary is growing fast - dozens of words, and new ones every week
Puts two words together - "want water", "more bread"
Understood by someone outside the family about half the time
Follows a two-part instruction
Worth asking about if
Does not put two words together
Speech is unclear even to you
Only repeats what they hear without using it meaningfully
Shows little interest in interacting with other children
Usual at this age
Speaks in sentences of three or more words
Understood by a stranger most of the time
Asks questions - "what", "where", "why"
Tells you what they did today
Worth asking about if
Speaks mainly in single words
A stranger can barely understand them
Gets stuck with visible tension, or avoids speaking
Does not ask questions
Usual at this age
Tells a short story in the right order
Understood by a stranger almost always
Uses past and future tense
Holds a conversation over several turns
Worth asking about if
A stranger struggles to understand them
Still cannot manage s, z, sh and zh
Sentences stay short and ungrammatical
Cannot recount what happened
Usual at this age
Produces almost all sounds correctly. Bulgarian r, and sometimes l, may still be settling - for most children that finishes by around 6
Tells a story with a beginning, middle and end
Understands multi-part instructions
Notices rhymes and matching first sounds
Worth asking about if
Swaps or drops sounds other than r and l
Struggles to build sentences
Cannot hear rhyme or first sounds - this links to reading later
Other children find them hard to understand
These lists follow the widely used developmental guides (ASHA and the CDC) together with Bulgarian norms for sound acquisition. The ages are approximate - children do not develop to a timetable.
What you can do from today
This is not therapy and does not replace an assessment. It helps any child, and it asks for nothing but a little attention.
Get down to their level
Kneel or sit on the floor so you are face to face. Your child can see how your lips move, and you can see what they are looking at.
Talk about what they are looking at
Not about what you want to talk about. Name whatever has caught their attention right now - that is how a word sticks to something real.
Wait
Count to five in your head before you step in. The pause is uncomfortable for an adult and exactly as long as a child needs to find the word.
Say it back correctly instead of correcting
If they say "woof-woof", answer "yes, a dog!". They hear the right word without being told they got it wrong.
Read together every day
It does not matter whether you reach the end. Turning the pages, pointing, and the fiftieth reading of the same favourite book all do the same work.
Turn down the background noise
A television or music playing behind you makes speech harder to pick out. Quiet helps more than it looks like it should.
Does anything in the second list sound familiar?
Call. If it turns out all is well, I will tell you so - that is an answer too.
