Typical Language Development

Preschool Language Scale – Fourth Edition from The Psychological Corporation (2002).

What should my child be be able to understand?

1.5 Years

• Identifies pictures of familiar objects
• Understands inhibitory words (e.g., “no”, “don’t”)
• Indicates body parts on self, caregiver, or doll
• Understands verbs in context

2 Years

• Identifies clothing items on self, caregiver, or doll
• Understands spatial concepts (e.g., “in”, “off”, “out”)
• Recognizes actions in pictures
• Understands several pronouns (e.g., “me”, “my”, “your”)

2.5 Years

• Understands use of objects
• Understands part/whole relationships
• Understands simple descriptive concepts (e.g., “big”, “little”, “wet”)
• Follows 2-step, related directions without cues

3 Years

• Understands quantity concepts (e.g., “one”, “some”, “rest”, “all”)
• Understands pronouns “his” and “her”
• Understands negatives in sentences
• Understands negatives in sentences

3.5 Years

• Identifies colors
• Makes inferences
• Identifies categories of objects in pictures
• Understands picture analogies
• Understands “more” and “most”

4 Years

• Understands expanded sentences
• Understands qualitative concepts (e.g., “tall”, “long”, “short”)
• Understands shapes

4.5 Years

• Understands “-er” as “one who”…
• Understands time concepts (e.g., “night”, “day”)
• Understands noun + 2 modifying adjectives

​5 Years

• Identifies an object that doesn’t belong
• Understands quantity concepts 3 and 5
• Indicates body parts on self
• Understands passive voice sentences

5.5 Years

• Orders pictures from largest to smallest
• Understands quantity concepts (e.g., “half”, “full”)
• Understands time/sequence concepts (e.g., “first”, “last”)

6 Years

• Identifies initial sounds
• Understands quantitative concepts (e.g., “each”)
• Understands rhyming sounds

6.5 Years

• Adds and subtracts numbers to five
• Understands time concepts (e.g., seasons)

What should my child be be able to express?

1.5 Years

• Imitates words
• Uses 5-10 words
• Vocalizes and uses gestures to make requests
• Produces different types of consonant-vowel combinations
• Babbles short syllable strings with inflection similar to adult speech

2 Years

• Names objects in pictures
• Uses words more often than gestures to communicate
• Asks questions
• Uses words for a variety of pragmatic functions
• Uses different word combinations

2.5 Years

• Uses plurals
• Combines 3 or 4 words in spontaneous speech
• Answers “what” and “where” questions
• Uses verb + ing
• Uses a variety of nouns, verbs, modifiers, and pronouns in spontaneous utterances

3 Years

• Produces basic 4-5 word sentences
• Names a variety of pictured objects
• Tells how an object is used
• Uses possessives

3.5 Years

• Answers questions logically
• Uses words that describe physical state
• Completes analogies
• Answers questions about hypothetical events

4 Years

• Responds to “where” questions
• Complete analogies
• Names objects when the object is described

4.5 Years

• Responds to “why” questions by giving a reason
• Names categories
• Repeats sentences
• Uses qualitative concepts “short” and “long”
• Uses “-er” to indicate “one who”
• Uses past tense forms

5 Years

• Formulates meaningful, grammatically correct questions in response to picture stimuli
• Describes similarities
• Names the items that fit into categories

5.5 Years

• Completes similes
• Counts items and gives correct number
• Repairs semantic absurdities

6 Years

• Defines words
• Repairs grammatical errors
• Rhymes words
• Segments words

6.5 Years

• Tells a story in sequence, using grammatically correct sentences
• Tells a story with introduction, sequence, and conclusion
• Uses irregular plurals
• Expresses quantity (e.g., “empty”, “more”)

Typical Speech Development

What is normal?

By 24 Months

• By 24 months, your child should be understood by others 50-75% of the time.

By 36 Months

• By 36 months, your child should be understood by others 75-100% of the time.