"Do it now! Don’t delay. You have no idea the benefits you give your child by starting early."
As your child’s speech develops, there is a progression that should occur in which specific sounds are to be correctly produced by certain ages. The chart below states what sounds your child should be saying accurately by the appropriate age. For example, a 3 year-old should correctly be producing the K sound at the beginning of words. If a 3 year-old is saying “tup” for ‘cup’, this is an indication that his/her speech development is delayed, and a professional should be contacted.
Age | Sounds at the Beginning of Words | Sounds in the Middle of Words | Sounds at the End of Words |
---|---|---|---|
2 years | b, d, h, m, n, p | b, m, n | m, p |
3 years | f, g, k, t, w | f, g, k, ng, p, t | b, d, g, k, n, t |
4 years | kw | d | f |
5 years | ch, j, l, s, sh, y, bl | ch, j, l, s, sh, z | l, ng, ch, j, s, sh, r, v, z |
6 years | r, v, br, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, kl, kr, pl, st, tr | r, v | |
7 years | z, sl, sp, sw, th | th | th |
These speech sound norms were taken from the Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation-2 from 2000.
According to the American Speech and Hearing Association, 64% of parents are unaware of the signs of a communication disorder. To educate yourself further on signs of communication disorders, be sure to read about identifying the signs. If your child is showing a delay in any areas, act now and contact a speech-language pathologist.