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| |    Key Language Milestones in Preschoolers (Two to Five Years) by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. These milestones are taken from well-researched tests, but this article is not a test for your preschooler. Knowing a few key milestones of language development can help reassure you that your preschooler is OK. (For more about these milestones, see About Language Milestones.) If she is not meeting these milestones and you are concerned, I hope this list will help you feel confident as you go about arranging a complete assessment of your child. Two to three years By two years of age, children should be making two-word telegraphic sentences, such as "Mommy milk!" or "no sleep." Once a child starts making two-word sentences, the pace of language learning often picks up. You might notice new words every day or week. A stranger listening carefully should understand about half of the words your child says. By two and a half years, 9 out of 10 children have 50 or more words at their disposal. A two-year-old child is the center of his own universe, as you probably well know, so, don't be surprised that words such as "me," "my," "mine," and "more" figure prominently in his vocabulary. Children at this age almost always understand more than they can say. In general, problems with understanding are of more concern than slowness to speak. They also should be able to follow a two-part request, such as "Give me the spoon and the cup." If you've been playing the body-parts game ("Where's your nose, where's your mouth"), your child should know several body parts by age two and a half. If you've been looking at picture books together, he should be able to point to several familiar pictures. Three to four years By three years of age, most children can recite their first names; by age four, they can tell first and last names. By three, they can understand two or three prepositions (such as "on," "under," "in") and use them when they talk. They can hold brief conversations, talking back and forth and listening several times. They construct sentences of three to five words, sometimes more. Concepts like "big/little," numbers ("one/two"), and adjectives ("hungry/ tired/ cold") all start to make sense. At first, it's normal for children to mix up "you," "I," and "me." But after age three or four, your child usually should get it right most of the time. By age four, your child should speak clearly enough so that a stranger who is listening carefully can understand pretty much all of what she says. Developmental delays What if your child is not doing one or more of these things by the appointed time? Children grow and develop at different rates, so there is a good chance that your child is simply doing things on her own schedule. On the other hand, the milestones above are ones that 9 out of 10 healthy babies meet. A child who really cannot meet them probably should have an assessment by a professional who understands development to make sure that there is no problem that needs to be dealt with early. An assessment for possible language delay involves the professional talking with you, and talking and playing with your child. By law, developmental assessments should be available free in almost every state. Your child's healthcare provider can help you set one up. Progress and regression In the course of learning new words and ways of using them, a child often will seem to take one giant step forward one day, then take a small step back the next day. For a few days, the skill seems lost, but then it shows up again, and this time it stays. Overall though, the general direction of development is upward. Rarely, the opposite seems to happen, and a child loses language skills from one month to another. If this happens, it is usually a very alarming sign that deserves a prompt assessment by a physician or child development professional.
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