Here it is friend! A FREE, ready made, printable checklist for receptive language, expressive language, and speech intelligibility.
This resource was created to help you keep track of your childs
developmental milestones.
This checklist is not exhaustive, but it is practical, simple, and easy to implement. I can't wait for you to get your hands on this and would love feedback on how you were able to use this with your little one.
Language
We all utilize language to communicate and these skills start to develop as soon as a child is born. Language is the comprehension and use of both spoken and written components. There are multiple domains of language, but today we are going to focus on receptive and expressive language.
*I will also do a quick overview of speech intelligibility as it was included in the checklist.
Receptive Language
This is what we are receiving within the context of communication with both spoken language and in print. In the course of natural language development, children quickly understand language well before they can produce it. An example would be instructing a child to put away their toys, they may not respond verbally, but they will initiate putting their toys away. They are demonstrating good receptive skills by following your instructions to put away their toys.
Difficulty with comprehending language can show up in multiple ways such as with answering questions, following instructions, understanding a story, and understanding the use of gestures.
*If you think your child has deficits in this area, it's always a good idea to have an audiologist perform a hearing assessment, especially if they have had
multiple ear infections.
Expressive Language
This the ability to express oneself through verbal (spoken) or nonverbal (written/gestures) communication. We are collectively putting our thoughts into words following the rules of grammar that surround language production. Those specific areas of language include syntax (rules of grammar), semantics (understanding the meaning of words & sentences), and morphology (structure of the words). A child that is having difficulty with expressive language may have trouble asking questions, making comments, naming objects, or using the appropriate facial expressions.
Speech Intelligibility
This is the clarity of a persons speech that enable them to be easily understood by a listener. It describes the accurate pronunciation of a speech sound or word in the field of speech therapy. As children develop new speech sounds, words, and vocabulary, their speech intelligibility increase as they improve in accuracy with those productions.
This can vary, but I have included typical norms, within the checklist, so you have a simple way to know where your child is developmentally. As a general rule of thumb, by the age of 5, most children are at 90-100% accuracy with speech intelligibility. This means that you understand what the child says 90-100% of the time. Please keep in mind this might look different if your child has speech sound errors.
For most children, the ability to comprehend and express language typically happens in a harmonious fashion, but that's not always the case. If you are concerned, please consult your pediatrician or a speech-language pathologist for a comprehensive assessment regarding your child and their specific needs.