Developmental Delay /

Speech delay

01 What Do I Need To Know?

UNDERSTANDING SPEECH

A helpful rule regarding the development of articulation is the Rule of Fourths:

  • The average 2-year-old child should be understood by strangers half the time (2/4)
  • The average 3-year-old child should be understood ¾ of the time
  • The average 4-year-old should be understood all the time (4/4).

Children may have difficulty with the pronunciation of certain sounds until they are 7 years of age, but 100% of speech should be understood by age 4 years. In normal speech development, the first eight consonant sounds that develop are m, b, y, n, w, d, p, and h. The last eight consonants are sh, th (as in thirty), s, z, th (as in the), zh sound typically spelled as s (as in pleasure), l, and r, which develop by age 7.

02 Clinicians Tools and Resources

Evaluation and management of the child with Speech Delay

The information published here has been reviewed by Flourish Paediatrics and represents the available published literature at the time of review.
The information is not intended to take the place of medical advice.
Please seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional.
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Last updated: 20/09/2012