Skills your child should master before words emerge:
  • Reacting to events in his/her environment such as thing they see, hear, smell, touch, taste.
  • Responding to communication partner and shows enjoyment being around others and intent to communicate.
  • Social Reciprocity - back and forth flow of social interaction.  Demonstrating turn-taking skills.
  • Develops longer attention span.
  • Joint Attention - shifting eye gaze between object and communication partner.
  • Engages in imaginary play with a variety of toys and plays with them functionally and appropriately​.
  • Understands object permanence, means-end/problem solving, and use of objects
  • Makes purposeful vocalizations during play time and to get your attention.
  • Imitates your actions, sounds, and words.
  • Non verbal communication - Uses gestures such as reaching and pointing to communicate.
  • Initiates social routines and interactions with others.
1-2 years of age 
  • Uses a variety of new words and begins to name pictures in books
  • Points to recognized objects (emerging nomination)
  • Begins to claim objects as their own (emerging possession)
  • Starts to combine 2 words together "more juice" "daddy shoe"
  • Asks and responds to simple wh questions "what's that" "where's baby"
  • Points to a few body parts
  • Follows 1-2 step simple directions
  • Listens to short stories, songs for a longer time
  • Requests "more" (emerging reoccurance)
  • Understands "no" and uses "all done" (emerging negation)
  • ~50 expressive words by 18 months - red flags if only using 10-20 words
  • ~200-300 expressive words by 24 months - red flags if only using 50 words
  • 25-50% intelligible
2-3 years of age​
  • Uses 2-3 word utterances​
  • Answers logical questions "what do you do when you're hungry"
  • Asks "where", "what", and "what/doing" questions
  • Identifies actions in pictures
  • Talks about things not in the room, talks during pretend play
  • Uses pronouns I, me, you, he, she, we, it
  • Using present progressive (-ing), plural (socks) and possessive "s" (girl's hat)
  • Understands prepositions in/on/off/under​​
  • Points to objects described​
  • Follows 2-3 step simple directions
  • ~1,000 word vocabulary by 36 months
  • 50-75% intelligible 
  • ​Uses speech sounds /B, N, M, H, P, T, W/ correctly
3-4 years of age
  • ​Uses 3-4 word utterances​
  • Begins using adjectives/describing words (color/size)
  • Answers simple wh questions (who, where, what)
  • Asks why, when, how questions
  • Asks "is" questions
  • Answers hypothetical questions "what would you do if you were sick?"
  • Can tell the function of objects
  • Uses Past tense -ed, Pronouns they, our, theirs, its, Prepositions next to, behind, in front, above
  • Uses is, are and am in sentences
  • Understands basic concepts (big/small, dirty/clean, hot/cold)
  • Keeps conversation going and answers open-ended questions​
  • ~1600 words by 48 months
  • Uses speech sounds /D, F, G, K, Y/ correctly
4-5 years of age
  • Uses 4-5 word utterances​
  • Begins to use complex sentences
  • Combines sentences using "and"
  • Describes using several adjectives/describing words
  • Starts telling how items are similar/different
  • Can sequence 3 events (first, next, last)
  • Understands time concepts (yesterday, today)
  • Uses comparatives and superlatives (bigger, biggest)​
  • Uses irregular past tense verbs (break, ran)
  • Uses articles (a, an, the)
  • Increase use of asking wh questions 
  • Asks "Do you want to.., Can you... and Are we going to.." questions
  • Answers "when" and "how many" (up to 4) questions
  • Responds appropriately to why and how questions that require reasoning about perception
  • ~2100 word vocabulary by 60 months
  • 75-90% intelligible
  • Still makes mistakes on longer/more complex words such as "aquarium" "hippopotamus"
5+ years of age
  • Asks meaning of words
  • Asks "how" questions
  • Understands meaning of most sentences
  • Understands opposites
  • ~2200-7000 word vocabulary
  • Follows multiple step directions
  • Can answer questions about a story
  • Tells short stories
  • Uses compound sentences
  • Initiates and participates full in conversation
  • Uses appropriate grammar
  • Can provide a solution to a problem​
  • 90-100% intelligible
  • Uses speech sounds /CH, J, SH, L, S, NG, V, Z, R, TH, ZH/ correctly
Sources:
​*LinguiSystems Guide to Communication Milestones 2012 Edition (Lanza, Flahive).

Shipley, K and McAfee, J. (1998) Assessment in Speech Language
Pathology: A Resource Manual. 2nd edition. San Diego: Singular publishing
Group, Inc.