Speech & Language Developmental Milestones
From 4 to 5 Years Old
Expressive Language Skills
grammar becomes more and more like that of an adult
uses because, beside, around, between
continues to increase vocabulary
identifies noun-verb violations - Rocks eat!
has about 2000 to 2500 or more words in his repertoire
pronounces just about all the speech sounds
continues to improve articulation
Receptive Language Skills
understands most of what she hears at home and in school
listens to short stories
answers simple questions about it
follows three-step directions - Hang up your jacket, get a book and sit in the reading corner.
understands temporal concepts - yesterday, today, tomorrow
Your child's overall social language skills will improve.
He'll use indirect language for requests.
He'll be able to give hints and even tell little jokes!
There may be a speech sound or two that he hasn't quite mastered.
He'll have essentially learned all the rules of the language.
He'll even be able to talk about the language. Vocabulary will continue to expand for years.
He'll continue to learn new and different ways of saying things.
If you feel that your child’s speech is not where it should be, you might consider talking with your pediatrician or a certified speech language pathologist. He or she will be able to help you discern if an assessment and/or speech-language therapy is necessary.
And remember not to wait too long to contact a professional. As time moves forward the language gap between your child and his peers will only continue to get larger.