There are certain developmental milestones and language milestones expected of your child at certain ages. These milestones are marked by how a child speaks, plays, learns and acts in order to give us an idea of their stage of development. You can refer to the below as a rough guide to ensure that your child’s development is on track.
What most children do at 5 years:
Looking and Listening/ Attention
-Integrated looking and listening is well established and maintained from here onwards
Understanding (Receptive Language)
-Listens properly to short stories and can answer questions on it
-Can follow and understand nearly all that is said at home and school
-Understands everyday conversations
-Starts to understand jokes
-Starts showing signs of critical thinking and reasoning
Talking/Communication
-More than 8 words in a sentence
-Speaks clearly and communicates easily with others
-Lots of detail in sentences
-Stays on topic when telling stories
-Uses past, present and future tense
-Uses most sounds correctly except th, r and some more difficult multi-syllabic words like escalator
Speech sounds a 5 year old should have
-P,m,h,n,w,b,k,g,d,t,ng,f,y,
-They have until 7 years to acquire the remaining sounds. R,l,s,ch,sh,z,j,v,th,zh
Size of Vocab: 1500 – 2000
Social/Emotional/Play
-Likes singing, dancing and acting
-Wants to be like friends
-Likes pleasing others
-Aware of the different genders
-Can tell the difference between what’s real and what’s pretend
-Obeys rules
As parents we want to do the best we can for our children. If a child receives correct support that they need, at the right time they can make significant gains. Early intervention is critically important for children with developmental difficulties (language, physical etc.) to develop the communication skills necessary for future success in their academic and personal lives.
If you are concerned about your child’s development take action now and book them in for an assessment with one of our multidisciplinary team.
