3 year-old went from 3-500 words by doing THIS! - Speech Milestones Year 3 (24-36 months)

Hi! Welcome Back to another section of Developmental Milestones in Speech and Understanding. This time it is targeting age 2-3 years old’s Language Development.

DISCLAIMER: Please remember every child develops at their own rate! These are what a typically developing child will acquire during this time period. If they aren’t doing all of it or you are reading along and notice that they don’t do ANY of them, then it is time to speak to a professional. If they are doing some and you notice a few are missing keep reading and I give you a bit of support on how to get them to do these things.

I encounter this on a daily basis in the setting that I am currently working. One of the cases sticks out prevalently. I was working with a child who would only say “YES, NO and MAMA”. They literally used only these 3 words, the rest of their communication was yelling, “AHHHHH,” or using gestures. Mom was mostly asking “Yes or No” questions. “Do you want this? Do you want that?” We worked on training mom to use open ended questions, labeling different objects, requesting and validating what they were saying. This kids progress was AMAZING and soooooooo fast. Once they were given this opportunity they jumped in a matter of 3-6 months from using 3 words to at least 500!!!!!!! This poor child had all of that vocabulary tied up in that beautiful brain. They were finally able to express themselves once given the opportunity. So for your little ones sake, use open ended questions! Give them choices. Wait for them to respond and let them know what they have to say is important.

Here are some tips to help you achieve this. During the age range from 2-3 your little one should be able to understand the following.

• Opposties - Like (UP/DOWN), (STOP/GO), (LIGHT/ Dark) etc.

• 2 Step Directions - They should be able to follow two step directions, an example is, “Go get your socks, bring them to me please.” In play you might use more of these directions than you notice also like….get the ball, throw it to me.

• Understanding New Words - They should be able to understand new words quickly. So what the heck does that mean huh? It means that when you introduce something new to them they are able to grasp it. Maybe you have to show it to them 2 or 3 times, but they are typically able to get it very quickly.

• Speaking - In speech they should now be able to talk about things not in the room, maybe it is something that they left in the other room and they want to play with it or see it. You might get a comment about someone that is in another room like, “Grandpa in his room,” or, “Doggie outside.”

• Sounds - They should by now also have several different sounds that they are using, such as the K(cat), G(good), F(food), T(toy), D(Doggie), N(No) in words.

• Prepositions - Prepositions are direction words such as ABOVE, UNDER, IN, NEXT TO, ON, BELOW, etc.

• 3-word-phrase - Not only will they begin to use all of the above to communicate more effectively and clearly but they will be able to use 2-3 words to talk about needs, wants and thoughts but they will be able to ask for stuff. You should hear questions such as,

  • “I have cereal?”

  • “I want cereal.”

  • “Is it hot?”

• Being Understood by Others - One of the big topics is that people that surround your child such as others who live in the same household should be able to understand what they are saying. This does not mean that a stranger or a distant friend should understand everything that your little one is saying. But Mom, Dad, Grandparents(if close), close friends who are interacting with them often should understand your child. A typical child around the age of 2 should be 50-70% intelligible and a 3 year old should be approximately 80% intelligible.

• Asking “Why?” - One of the most fun questions that they will begin to ask is…WHY? OOOOO yes the dreaded “why”… Well for some people it’s dreaded. So coming from the background that I come from..the hispanic culture. The answer to this question for many was always “BECAUSE I SAID SO.” I was extremely fortunate to not hear this often. I might get in trouble for this one but, I am speaking as a professional, with no impact from the past. EXPLAIN THE WHY!!!! It is 100% ok to take 10 minutes out of our busy day to explain something to a child. They ask why because they need help understanding. It is up to us to enlighten and show them how the world works. Honestly, there are sometimes where the “why” is not very easily explained or you don’t know the answer. Well the awesome thing about the society we live in is that there are thousands of answers at our finger tips. So instead of saying, “Because I said so,” PROVIDE RATIONALE OR AN EXPLANATION. If you don’t know, LOOK IT UP. Say, “Let’s find out,” help them discover and treat it as an adventure. If it is not age appropriate….explain to them that they will learn this when they are a little older and that it is for adults. This is a very fun age, a lot of people call it the terrible 2’s right? It makes sense they are trying to learn more and more and…they can begin to make their own opinions. OOOOO it can be crazy! They are supposed to take different steps to solving a problem at this age, which of course, can get messy. If you are the personality type that hates messes (shhhh like me), we are in for a wild ride. There are so many ways we can guide play and understanding for the little ones though. A few ways that we can assist little ones in their understanding and speaking are to use short words and sentences.

• NO BABY TALK!!! SPEAK CLEARLY!!! Repeat what they say and add more to it. Here is an example:

  • Little One (LO): Yum cookie!

  • Parent: Yes, that is a yummy cookie, it smells so good, do you want to smell it? (Wait for a response)

  • LO: Smell it?

  • Parent: (let them smell it)…mmmm it looks good…want to taste it? (then you bite it EAT IT ALL and say it was yummy…. JUST KIDDING! You can let them taste it.)

  It is so important that you give them a chance to respond to you and let them use their words. It can be a challenge for sure in that since up to this point the conversational exchanges have been minimal for some and now we have to take time to listen to their opinions. It is also important to let them know what they are saying is important to you. If you don’t understand, ask for clarification… “Mama! Ball!” You can say, “Ooo a ball. I know you want a ball. Which one do you want?” It is time for them to begin to make decisions and explain what they want or need.

• Teaching words - Now is the time to keep teaching them NEW words… But how?!?!?! READING!!!! WHEN YOU READ, ITS PERFECT MODELING OF:

  • Correct grammar

  • Word shapes

  • Intonation

  • Inflection

  So much good can come out of something so simple. To begin talk about things they know about or are familiar with….colors, shapes, letters and numbers are a few. Then name objects in the books. Show them how to use synonyms, like lady, mommy, woman grown-up, adult, etc. I have heard many times, “My kid just doesn’t like books.” That’s fine, but they are sooooooo much easier to use to facilitate excellent communication. The type of book that I highly recommend are Poke-a-Dot books by Melissa and Doug. They keep your little one engaged and give them some tactile stuff to do while you can get them involved in reading. There are other books that have several different things to touch. This is an excellent way to get them interacting with textures and get them engaged in book reading.

• Categories - Start to introduce categories, you can use books for this also or you can use fun games like Whats in Ned’s head. This is a game that you have a plush head that is filled with “gross” stuff like a bug, a lizard, a melted lollipop etc. but you can put in other objects that can be categorized like clothes, animals, foods etc. These do not have to be real objects toys are perfect. Then as you pull them out categorize them like all of these are food or categorize in color.

• Photos - Scrapbooking, or in todays society, your phone, to look at family photos and talk about what is happening, say the names of the people, the relation to you etc. What actions are happening? Where are they? etc. If you are scrapbooking or have the actual printed photo, you can write simple phrases under the pictures to establish meaning, like day at the pool, happy birthday Grandpa, etc.

• Open ended questions and choices - GIVE THEM CHOICES…YOU, probably already know what they want or need but now is the time to give them options. Like, “Ooo you are thirsty,” ask them what they want. Milk or water (facilitation of choice!!!! Like I previously stated, now is the time to get them to start making decisions and letting them tell you.) WAIT FOR THE ANSWER!!! Then praise them for answering! You can say thank you for telling me what you want! I will get you a glass of milk. Give them a chance to talk, present OPEN-ENDED questions for them and give them time to answer.

• In our previous blog and YouTube video we stated that singing songs is so important to proper development. Guess what?! It still is at 2-3. Keep singing songs, playing finger games, telling nursery rhymes. All of these may seem redundant but they teach your little one about rhythm and the sounds of language.

• Languages - All of these models and communication exchanges are to be held in… TADA!!!! ANY LANGUAGE!!! WHATEVER YOU ARE MOST COMFORTABLE WITH!

Once again, thank you for checking out the blog and maybe you watched the video above on this. I have a couple of other tips in there. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for our next video on 3-4 year old development and the blog. PLEASE, Please remember that all children develop at their own rate, this blog does describe when most children will reach these milestones. If they aren’t performing a few of these skills it does not mean that they have a problem, if they are missing ALL of them, then you may need to seek assistance, you can do so by speaking to your pediatrician or a speech pathologist to see what the next steps would be. Hope that this remains useful to you! Thank you again for reading.

"I'm new here. Talk to me!" - Speech Milestones Year 2 (12-24 months)

• Talk to them about simple observations.

• What sounds to expect.

• Explain what you are doing.

• Using correct grammar.

• READ to them!

You have made it through the first year with your little one, now here comes the easy part right?! HAAA not really. I have come to realize through my years as a parent and mostly as a Speech Pathologist that communication is the key to, well everything it feels like. Communication can be tricky though. Many times we have these expectations that our children are given to us with a dictionary in their head and miraculously they will be able to use all of their words on their own. Can you imagine if that were true?! Whoa that would be interesting!

As awesome as it would be for your 1-2 year old to have a plethora of vocabulary, the truth is…it’s up to you to foster and nourish their speech and understanding development. Between the age of 1 year and 2 years there are a few things that you should begin to see and expect from your little one.

Simple Observation

In the area of Hearing and understanding you will see them begin to identify body parts on themselves on others or toys. They will follow single directions like throw the ball or give me high five etc. They will begin to respond to simple questions for example Where is daddy?, Where are your shoes? Who is that? They may begin to point to objects in a book when you name them. For example if you say wow look at the baseball they may point to it. It is such an exciting time to see them begin to blossom and really show us that they are understanding what you are talking about. This is such a good time to teach them how to communicate and understand the world around them. Not only are they beginning to understand all of this, but then you get them speaking. To hear their first words start to become clear is just magical. As a speech pathologist, I am so incredibly fortunate to be able to hear this soooooo many times, not just with my own kiddo. Let me tell you, it is incredibly beautiful to hear. To be able to praise them, giving them the reassurance that you understand them and are excited for them to be using their words. As I have said before, most little ones want to feel included and when they start to understand that they are using words and are understood by others, they light up.

What sounds to expect

Around this age you begin to hear a lot of words begin to be used, I am talking 50 plus words. These little ones are truly amazing and they surprise you at times with how many words they have. It is important to remember that at this point they will still understand more words than they say. In addition to having more words, they are clearing up some of their sounds.

The sounds that you will hear become more clear are:

• p sound

• b sound

• m sound

• h sound

• and w.

Books are our friend and your little one will start to name different pictures they may see and ask you questions like “What’s that?, Who is that?, Where is doggy?” It honestly might not sound like that, it may sound more like, “What dat? Who dat? Where doggy?” But getting to hear those little strings of words is magical. The should be starting to put together 2-3 words together…like more milk, no ball, mommy book, etc. More more and more words will start to emerge. They are like tiny computers that continue to receive updates by the minute.

How to keep your baby updated

In my head I imagine a picture of a baby with a little update bar on their head that is continuously updating. So in order to foster and develop a child’s understanding and speaking communication there are several things that you can do. One of the awesome things is, is that you do not need many “tools”.

To begin expanding your little ones communication skills:

1. Talk to them as you are doing things. You can say what you see, what you smell, what you hear, why you are doing something. You can explain to them how something might feel and describe textures, let them get in on the fun also. It is important to get all of their senses involved.

2. Use correct grammar. When you are describing something, we have to remember they will imitate what you say and how you say it. As you are speaking to them, and you do want them to imitate it, you can shorten the phrase that way they are more likely to be able to repeat it. An example is, “I see a cow! Cow says moooooo. That’s a big cow!”

3. Keep on reading! Just as stated in the last blog and video it is so important to read to your little one everyday, show them pictures, point at them describe what you see. If they give you one word add another one to it. An example is your little one points to the cow and says moo, you say “That’s Right!!!! A cow!!! The cow says mooo!” Well I don’t have books….time to get creative…use the sounds around you. “I hear the clock, it says tick tick tick. I see a dog it is panting it sounds like h h h h h. I hear a car it went rrrrr-rrrrr-rrrrrr or beeeeeeep beeeeep.” Ask your little one where the sound is coming from, “Where is the clock?” Have them point at it. “The phone is ringing it sounded like riiiiinnnnnngggg riiiiinnnnggggg, where is the phone?!”

Once again modeling good grammar and use whatever language you are most comfortable with. If you are comfortable and confident your child will be also. It is never too early to use more than one language either. Remember that all children develop at their own rate. They truly are like a garden, some sprout early some take a while but they all get growing… in the right environment.

I once again am very grateful to you if you made it to the end of this. I realize that there are tons of resources and I am excited that you are using mine. I stand with you in fostering your child’s understanding and language development. Thanks for reading!

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What should baby really be able to say bay age 1? Speech Milestones Year 1 (0-12 months)

Recently I have been hearing the question “Where is my kid supposed to be?” How do I know if they need speech? Many times we depend on watching others and how their children are developing and begin to compare our parenting skills. You hear or say, Wow that kid talks a lot!!!!! My kid is so nice and quiet!!! My second child doesn’t say as much as my first kid used to at this age. I’m not worried about it my husband said that he didn’t speak until he was 8, so he isn’t worried about our kid. I have heard several of these….multiple times. Although the comparison of your child to others around you or to your previous children can be a good jumping off point, it is important to ask your pediatrician or get information from a trained person like a speech language pathologist as to where your little one should be in their development. It is so so so important to remember that everyone develops at different times. However, the information provided is an average. We have a video of typical development for Hearing, Understanding and Speech from 0-1 year of age. And here’s a chart from ASHA.

As a speech pathologist we are to utilize our resources to their full potential and share the knowledge so that others may be educated and use resources to assist their children in appropriate language development. Even if your child is not “behind” where they are supposed to be it is not a bad idea to provide an hefty amount of communication with them. The best way to do this with little ones is by playing. Yes!!! What?!?! Play?! Yes that is it! I have spoken to several individuals that say, “No way that by me playing with my kid will make them speak.” Well…..not for all diagnoses, but in general, yes this is going to help communication. Regardless of what language it is provided in. PLAY WITH YOUR KIDS! YES ON THE FLOOR!!! Animal sounds?! YES! Vroom vroom, Beep beep?! YES all of those. We learn by imitation and modeling. Our brain is happy when we feel like we are apart of something. Little ones crave the attention and truly feel connected when they are a part of a play situation. Just a reminder this is not for all kids but for a lot. In the near future I will make another video on how to play/model with your little ones and how to read books with them.

Unfortunately, There is no magic pill. I’ve been noticing so many of my patients families expect their child to magically speak and understand what is going on in the world around them with out providing any kind of modeling or education. Sometimes with the best of their intentions it is just not common knowledge. We have to work at communication and understanding sometimes.

Hearing and Understanding

The first step to communication and your little one is knowing if they can hear you or not. Either way there is help for you. If you have any question about your little one’s hearing your pediatrician can test them. Things to look out for is their response to loud sounds or abrupt sounds. Do they turn and look at where the sound is coming from? Do they jump if startled by a loud sound etc.? Once you have established this then you can look out for their understanding of what is going on around them. Do they look when you point? Do they attend to your changes of pitch (happy sounding, upset, directions)?

Communication

What can I do to help my child…To help your little one there are several different things you can do.

1. Get reading, read to your little one everyday, even if it is just for 5 minuets. Even if an individual does not know how to read, use the pictures, talk about what you see, where objects are, what they are, what their function is, what color they are etc.

2. Explain what is happening around you.Tell them what you are doing and how it is being done. For example as I type this out on my laptop my little one just asked me to do something, I told him, do you see my fingers moving? He said yes. I proceeded to say all of these little black squares are letters, I am using my fingers to push on them to make words. So this is what I am talking about, explaining to your little ones what you are doing. Even though it feels like such common sense…I am typing is an answer we would give to someone that text or called you or yelled at you from a different room. However our little ones don’t know what that is until it is shown to them or explained to them.

3. Play with them, model sounds that they can imitate, like beep beep, moo, oink, woof woof, aaaaawwooooooo, as ridiculous as it may feel these common sounds help to acknowledge sounds we may hear around us and put actions to the sound or a face to the sound, like oh that small pink round thing doesn’t say moo it says oink. It’s all about making several different connections in the brain and we are in charge of giving them multiple opportunities to facilitate and use language.

4. Imitation of games and songs, singing to your little one helps make several different brain connections, playing peek a boo or clapping your hands, helping them clap theirs, counting their toes or fingers etc. Saying bye bye and Hello to different people or objects like Hi Grandpa, bye bye Grandpa, Hi toys, Bye toys etc.

5. Talk to them using whichever language you are comfortable with, our little ones are sponges, any language is fine. The more comfortable you are, the more comfortable they will be. Remember they will imitate what they hear, from the intonation to the actual words you use.

I want to talk to you about the use of technology in communicating with children, an observation I have made is that children have a lot of tech use now. Be it a phone, a tablet, a computer, the TV etc. Ok so it can be helpful right? I have to cook dinner and my 3 year old is pulling on my leg, or whatever situation you find yourself in. Here is the thing, tech is not always bad. It’s not always good either. So…if you are going to use it be active and proactive with it, talk to them about what is happening, ask them what they see etc. To be completely honest, it is really truly not a good idea to have your baby using the phone. For age one and younger I do not recommend giving them this kind of technology use at this point in their life. Mostly because the understanding is not there yet. It is just not at that level of development. Songs that come from youtube etc are good but only if they are being backed up by a caregiver. Like sining a long with them doing hand movements or body movements, clapping, letting your little one look at your mouth and how it is moving along with the words of the song, etc. Engage your little one by making eye contact, tapping their legs, hands in rhythm, etc. There are several ways to utilize this to your benefit, but by having it as a babysitter for a prolonged period of time can put a strain on some individuals language development. There are many benefits to using technology, it opens so many doors, it is just important to be a leader and not let your child get lost in the screen. I will make another video of this also on how to effectively utilize technology for learning and language.

Do they need speech? This is a HUGE question right?! If you suspect that your little one is falling behind or doesn’t communicate as they should be, it is never a problem to get an evaluation. Simply speak to your pediatrician and talk to them about what you have seen or are hearing/ or not hearing from your little on. After you get a referral a speech pathologist will be able to speak to you and evaluate your little one, sometimes your little one doesn’t actually need skilled services and they just need a little redirection or help from you to get them going.

Speaking as a speech pathologist, and I think I can speak for all speech pathologists in stating…: We are here for you, we want to support you and your family, we are willing to give so much of ourselves to help you all in your communication. We are with you in this journey! We are here to lead you and stand by you in your/our communication journey. We are apart of the support team that is needed to foster the growth of communication. We are here! Waiting to help. Every journey is different and we are here for all of them. Let’s get talking!

I am more than aware that there are 1,000 different websites that you could be reading or listening to. Thank you for choosing Speech Corner

https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01/