Frequently Asked Questions

Speech

Q. My son is 24 months of age and is only babbling, he is not using words yet. What should he be saying at this age?

A. At 24 months of age, children should be using a variety of everyday words heard in his home. They begin to put a few words together to make little “sentences”. Examples “give me cookie”; “bye- bye doggie”.

Q. My daughter is 5 years of age, and people have difficulty understanding her, though I understand what she is saying.

A. At 5 years of age, a child’s speech should be intelligible, although some sounds may still be mispronounced.

Hearing

Q. My daughter is 12 months of age and does not respond to familiar sounds such as a dog barking or a telephone ringing. What should she be doing at this age?

A. Children between the ages of 7 and 10 months usually respond to familiar sounds by turning their heads or shoulders toward the sound.

Language

Q. Our son is 3 years of age; he is not using complete sentences. At what age should he be using complete sentences?

A. He should begin to use completes sentences some of the time, by 3 years of age.

Stuttering

Q. My 2 ½ year old son just started to stutter, a month ago. He repeats words i.e. I-I- I. Is this normal? Should I have him evaluated?

A. It is not uncommon for children between 2 and 6 years of age to exhibit some stuttering behavior. This behavior may be normal developmental disfluency. If your child continues to demonstrate this stuttering behavior for more than 3 months he should be evaluated by a licensed speech pathologist, specializing in childhood fluency disorders.