Speech-Language & Swallowing Milestones
The following speech-language skills are typically found at the ages indicated.
Speech-Language Skills
- Startles to loud sounds
- Quiets or smiles to voice
- Makes pleasure sounds (cooing)
- Vocalizes or cries for different needs
Feeding Skills
- Takes 2-4 ounces of liquid per feeding
- Takes 6 or more feedings per day
- Sucks or suckles on a bottle (may lose some liquid from the mouth and tongue may be sticking out slightly)
Speech-Language Skills
- Babbles
- Pays attention to and looks toward music and sounds
- Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
Feeding Skills
- Takes 4-7 ounces of liquid
- Takes 4-6 feedings per day
- Improved coordination when sucking on a bottle, with up to 20 sucks in a row between pauses
Speech-Language Skills
- Smiles
- Babbles
- Pays attention to and looks toward music and sounds
- Vocalizes excitement and displeasure
Feeding Skills
- Takes liquids, infant cereal and pureed foods
- Takes 9-10 ounces of food or liquid per feeding
- Takes 4-6 feedings per day
Speech-Language Skills
- Produces a variety of vowel and consonant sounds in their babble
- Vocalizes during games and songs
- Imitates duplicated syllables (e.g., “bababa”)
- Attends to music, speech and pictures
- Stops or responds to name or “no”
Feeding Skills
- Takes thicker purees (i.e., Stage 2 baby foods) and mashed table foods
- Readily opens mouth to take food from a spoon
- May suck liquid from an open cup, losing liquid from the mouth and/or occasionally coughing/choking with larger mouthfuls
- Starting to eat simple solids and may move their tongue toward the sides if solids are placed on the molar regions
Speech-Language Skills
- Says 1 or 2 words (e.g., bye-bye, mama, dada)
- Vocalizes with intent frequently
- Imitates more sounds
- Gives objects upon request
- Follows simple commands or routines with gestures or cues
- Enjoys speech games, such as Peek-A-Boo
- Starting to identify basic body parts
Feeding Skills
- Can take multiple swallows in a row from an open cup
- Starting to bite into solid food (e.g., soft cookie), breaking off a piece to chew
- Begins independent hand-to-mouth feeding
- May occasionally lose food or saliva from the mouth while chewing
Speech-Language Skills
- Attends to pictures
- Shakes head “no”
- Says or imitates 8 to 10 words
- Follows 1-step directions
- Responds to name
Feeding Skills
- Takes liquids and ground, mashed or coarsely chopped table foods
- Can move solids from the center to the molar regions independently, using their tongue
Speech-Language Skills
- Says 15 to 20 words
- Talks more than gesturing
- Asks “What's That?” and “More?”
- Understands 50 words
Feeding Skills
- Does a better job of chewing and swallowing without losing food from the mouth
- Starting to move foods from side-to-side while chewing
Speech-Language Skills
- Identifies a few body parts or clothing items on self
- Uses at 25-50 words
- Understands basic commands and questions (e.g., “Where's your shoe?”)
- Listens to stories, songs and rhymes
- Points to pictures in a book when named
- Frequently uses single words
- Occasionally uses 2-word phrases
Feeding Skills
- Uses controlled, sustained chewing
Speech-Language Skills
- Uses 50-100 different words
- Uses 2-word phrases frequently
- Refers to self by their name
- Follows a 2-step direction (e.g., “Pick up your shoes and bring them to mommy”)
- Can choose 1 object from a group of several items
Feeding Skills
- Able to drink from a cup without losing liquid from the mouth
- Chews and swallows solids without losing food from the mouth
- Regularly moves foods from side-to-side while chewing
Speech-Language Skills
- Uses 3-word phrases frequently
- Tells you their name
- Asks for help
- Uses negation, such as “no” or “not”
- Uses action words
- Understands “big” and “little”
Speech-Language Skills
- Matches colors
- Names a few colors
- Answers simple “yes/no”, “what” and “where” questions
- Counts to 3
- Uses sentences to communicate
- Follows a 3-step direction
- Correctly says the following sounds: m, n, ng, p, f, h, w, k, g, b, d and t
- Speech is 70-80% intelligible
Feeding Skills
- Generally eats the same foods as the rest of the family
Speech-Language Skills
- Speech is 90% intelligible
- Sentences may range 4 to 8 words in length
- Asks and answers a variety of “wh” questions
- Accurately relays a long story
- Starting to use complex sentences
- Starting to use grammatically correct sentences
- Counts to 10
Concerns
Your child may benefit from a speech-language or feeding-swallowing evaluation if you have concerns in any of the following areas:
Language
- Child has not met typically expected milestones for speech and language development
- Child stopped producing words that they were previously saying
- Any regression in speech, language or social skills at any age
- Reduced or no eye contact during play or communication
- Does not respond to voice or sounds
- Hoarse voice quality or frequent loss of voice
- Child sounds as though they are speaking through the nose
- Child's speech sounds like they always have a cold
Feeding & Swallowing
- Poor weight gain, weight loss or failure to thrive
- Choking, gagging or coughing during or after meals
- Ongoing problems with vomiting during or after meals
- Increased respiratory sounds or congestion during or after feedings
- Food or liquids come through the nose when the child is eating or drinking
- History of traumatic choking incident
- History of poor eating and breathing coordination
- Ongoing or recurrent respiratory issues
- Delayed transition through food textures or from bottle to cup drinking
- Aversion or avoidance of all foods in a specific texture or food group
- Irritability, crying or arching during or after meals
- Mealtimes are very difficult or take a long time to complete
- Inappropriate or excessive drooling
Specialties & ConditionsSpeech-Language Pathology Speech-Language & Swallowing Milestones
