Beyond Words - When Speech Grammar Is Acquired

When Speech Grammar Is Acquired
Developmental Norms

York Region Preschool Speech and Language Program has compiled developmental normative scales that they use to measure a child's language delay.

The following charts outline expected ages for the development of grammar. Included in the charts is the age at which intervention is indicated.

Also included are some general suggestions for language development. See below.

Expressive Language Chart
Grammatical Structure		Developmental Norm	Therapy Indicated If Not Acquired By:
Nouns	plurals (e.g., two cookies or two watches)	2 - 2 ½ years	3 ½ years
Nouns	possessives (e.g., girl's washroom)	2 - 2 ½ years	3 ½ years
Verbs	present progressive (ing) (e.g., She is washing)	2 ½ - 3 years	3 ½ years
	present singular (-s) (e.g., She washes the dishes OR She eats a lot)	2 ½ - 3 years	4 years
	aux/copula (is/are) - uncontracted (e.g., She is washing OR They *are* hungry)	2 ½ - 3 years	3 ½ years
	aux/copula - contracted (proper use of apostrophes) (e.g., He's tired or She's eating cookies)	2 ½ - 3 years	4 years
	regular past tense (e.g., She washed the dishes)	2 ½ - 3 years	4 ½ years
	irregular past tense (e.g., She wrote a letter)	3 ½ - 4 years	5 years
	future tense (e.g., She is going to write a letter OR She will write a letter)	3 - 3 ½ years	5 years
Pronouns	first person (I, me, you) (e.g., I want you)	2 - 2 ½ years	3 years
	gender (he, she, they) (e.g., She is happy)	2 ½ - 3 years	4 years
	possessive (his, hers, theirs) (e.g., That's his dog)	3 ½ - 4 years	4 ½ years
	object (him, her, them) (e.g., Go and see him)	3 - 4 years	4 ½ years
Negatives		2 ½ - 3 years	3 ½ years
Questions	N-v inversion (e.g., Are you coming?)	3 ½ - 4 years	4 ½ years
Questions	Wh? (e.g., When are you going?)	3 ½ - 4 years	4 ½ years
Prepositions	in, on, under (e.g., The dog put his bones under the table and in my shoe.)	2 ½ - 3 years	3 ½ years
Prepositions	behind, infront, beside, between (e.g., It's beside you between the two chairs)	3 ½ - 4 years	4 ½ years

General Suggestions for Language Development

Imitation - By imitating what your child has said, you are showing your interest. It is also a way of confirming that you understand what he/she said. To imitate, repeat his/her statement back using correct grammar and pronunciation. This will let him/her hear the correct form without saying he/she was wrong.

Expanding - In response to your child's initiation of interaction, you can expand what he/she said by adding more words to make the sentence clearer. For example:

Child:	Daddy
Parent:	Daddy help
Or Child:	Doggie run
Parent:	The doggie is running
Child:	Doggie
Parent:	He's soft or touch his fur

Talk about what you and your child are doing - The moment to talk about experiences is as they are happening. This is when they are most meaningful.
Be animated - If you are enthusiastic and entertaining, it makes communication more fun and keeps your child interested in the topic. Use facial expressions (e.g., smiling, nodding) and vary intonation in your voice.
Ask questions - If you can't understand your child, repeat what he/she said with questioning intonation in your voice. This will encourage him/her to clarify what he/she has said. If this doesn't work, guess at the message. This confirmation will increase your child's self-confidence,
Encourage interactions - Use non-verbal behaviours such as getting down to the child's physical level while playing or talking, do things that interest the child, encourage participation and pause to allow your child time to respond.

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