It can often be a disheartening trap to compare the speech and language development of our children to others. It is useful to understand what is generally expected as children develop, and to move along at a child’s pace if they are growing up with additional difficulties. There is no point in comparing your child with a disability or difficulty of some kind to a child without barriers to learning. However, it’s useful to know the stage that your child is at so that you know how to move them to the next step.
I like the American Speech and Hearing Association development charts as they give specific language skills to look for, and contain ideas for activities that your family can incorporate to help your child’s understanding and expression of language.
If you would like an individualised assessment and therapy plan for your child, it’s a great idea to meet up with a Speech-Language Therapist. As a Hamilton based Speech-Language Therapist I love to meet parents who are wanting to learn how to help their child’s speech and language develop. Together we can boost your child’s speech and language development and you can learn to support them at each stage.