Stages of Language Development Checklist

Instructions: Answer all questions up to your child’s current age bracket by answering ‘Yes’ on ‘No’.

Interpretation: If you tick 2 or more boxes with a ‘Yes’ contact Kid Sense Child Development on 1800 KIDSENSE (1800 543 736).

Does your child have difficulty with:

Age	Skill	Yes	No
0-6 months	Attending to sounds and voices.
0-6 months	Recognising facial expressions and tones of voice.
6-12 months	Attending to sounds and voices.
	Recognising facial expressions and tones of voice.
	Responding to familiar requests (e.g. come here).
	Responding to their own name.
	Understanding gestures (e.g. wave for 'bye').
	Understanding simple questions (e.g. Where's daddy?).
	Babbling (e.g. ma-ma, da-da).
	Taking turns vocalising with others.
	Recognising the names of a few objects.
1-2 years	Responding to familiar requests (e.g. come here).
	Responding to their own name.
	Taking turns vocalising with others.
	Understanding simple questions (e.g. Where's daddy?).
	Following simple instructions (e.g. Give ball to daddy).
	Understanding approximately 50 words.
	Comprehending one key word in a sentence (e.g. Where's your nose?).
	Saying some simple first words (e.g. mine, no, mum, dad, ta).
	Pointing to common objects when named.
	Having approximately 50-100 words in their vocabulary by 2 years.
	Joining 2 words together (e.g.car go, bye daddy) by 2 years.
2-3 years	Following simple instructions (e.g. Give ball to daddy).
	Following 2 part instructions (e.g. Go to your room and get your shoes).
	Pointing to main body parts, clothing items, toys and food when asked.
	Understanding and asking What and Where questions.
	Comprehending position concepts: on; off; in; out; up; down; under; top; open; shut.
	Comprehending size concepts: big; small/little; long.
	Comprehending quantity concepts 1 and 2.
	Comprehending concepts: stop; go/start; loud; quiet; heavy; soft; fast; hot; cold.
	Naming actions (e.g. go, run).
	Using at least 50-100 words in their vocabulary.
	Using a minimum of 2-3 words in a sentence (e.g. Daddy go work).
	Talking about present events.
	Using regular plurals (e.g. 1 dog, 2 dogs).
	Using articles 'a' and 'the'.
	Using progressive -ing (e.g. The boy is jumping).
	Using pronouns: you, I, me, mine.
	Using regular past tense (e.g. I climbed).
	Using possessive's (e.g. Daddy's car).
3-4 years	Following 2 part instructions (e.g. Go to your room and get your shoes).
	Following 3 part instructions (e.g. Point to the cat, the dog and the monkey).
	Pointing to main body parts, clothing items, toys and food when asked.
	Understanding longer, more complex sentences.
	Understanding What, Where and Who questions.
	Comprehending position concepts: on; off; in; out; up; down; under; top; open; shut; bottom; behind; first; near.
	Comprehending size concepts: big; small/little; long; short (length) - emerging; short (height).
	Comprehending quantity concepts: 1-3; every; none.
	Comprehending concepts: stop; go/start; loud; quiet; heavy; soft; fast; hot; cold; hard; slow; light (weight); many colours.
	Asking What, Where, Why, When & How questions.
	Using a minimum of 3-4 words in a sentence.
	Telling you what they are doing.
	Telling you the function or use of an object.
	Using nearly 1500 words in their vocabulary by 4 years.
	Using regular plurals (e.g. 1 dog, 2 dogs).
	Using articles 'a' and 'the'.
	Using progressive -ing (e.g. The boy is jumping).
	Using pronouns you, I, me, mine, he, she.
	Using regular past tense (e.g. I climbed).
	Using possessive's (e.g. Daddy's car).
	Using auxiliary 'is' (e.g. The girl is skipping).
	Using connector 'and' (e.g. I want a banana and an apple).
	Using 3rd person singular (e.g. He wants the ball; The rabbit eats grass).
	Using contracted negative (e.g. isn't, doesn't, haven't, shouldn't).
	Using contracted copula (e.g. He's happy).
	Using past participle (e.g. It's broken).
4-5 years	Following 3 part instructions (e.g. Point to the cat, the dog and the monkey).
	Understanding longer, more complex sentences.
	Understanding questions.
	Following the meaning of others' conversations.
	Understanding What, Where, Who and How questions.
	Comprehending position concepts: bottom; behind; first; near; middle; around; away from; between; through; next to/beside; last by mid-late 4 years.
	Comprehending size concepts: short (length); short (height); tall; fat by mid-late 4 years.
	Comprehending quantity concepts: 4; most; few by mid-late 4 years.
	Comprehending position concepts: in front; in a line; corner; middle by late 4-5 years.
	Comprehending size concept thin by late 4-5 years.
	Comprehending quantity concepts 5 and pair by late 4-5 years.
	Comprehending concepts: same; different (size); different (function) by late 4-5 years.
	Asking Why, When and How questions.
	Asking the meanings of words.
	Using a minimum of 4-5 words in a sentence.
	Understanding colour words (e.g. red, green).
	Understanding shape words (e.g. square, triangle).
	Sorting objects into simple categories (e.g. animals, food).
	Talking about past and future events.
	Using auxiliary 'is' (e.g. The girl is skipping).
	Using pronouns he; she; his; hers; theirs.
	Using connectors 'and' (e.g. I want a banana and an apple) and 'because' (e.g. The boy was crying because he fell over and hurt his knee).
	Using 3rd person singular (e.g. He wants the ball; It eats grass).
	Using contracted negative (e.g. isn't, doesn't, haven't, shouldn't).
	Using contracted copula (e.g. He's happy).
	Using past participle (e.g. It's broken).
	Using comparative -er and superlative -est (e.g. big, bigger, biggest).
	Using 'is' vs 'are' (e.g. The monkey is eating a banana vs The monkeys are eating the bananas).
	Using past tense 'to be' (e.g. I was running; They were running).
	Using adverb -ly (e.g. quickly, slowly, quietly).
	Using irregular plurals (e.g. mice, children, men).
5-6 years	Comprehending position concepts in front; in a line; corner; middle.
	Comprehending size concepts short (length); short (height); tall; fat thin.
	Comprehending quantity concepts 5; most; few; pair.
	Comprehending concepts: same; different (size); different (function).
	Comprehending time concepts: yesterday; tomorrow; morning; afternoon; later.
	Understanding colour words (e.g. red, green).
	Understanding shape words (e.g. square, triangle).
	Using How & When questions.
	Using more complex sentences.
	Sorting objects into categories (e.g. animals, food).
	Using imaginative language in play - likes to pretend and act out stories.
	Telling several attributes about an object.
	Talking about past and future events.
	Using pronouns his, hers, theirs (e.g. It is his/hers/theirs).
	Using comparative -er and superlative -est (e.g. big, bigger, biggest).
	Using 'is' vs 'are' (e.g. The monkey is eating a banana vs The monkeys are eating the bananas).
	Using past tense 'to be' (e.g. I was running; They were running).
	Using connectors 'and' (e.g. I want a banana and an apple) and 'because' (e.g. The boy was crying because he fell over and hurt his knee).
	Using adverb -ly (e.g. quickly, slowly, quietly).
	Using irregular plurals (e.g. mice, children, men).
	Using irregular past tense (e.g. fell, broke, ate).
6-7 years	Comprehending position concepts left and right.
	Comprehending concepts: same; different; season; time of day.
	Understanding the difference between reality and fantasy.
	Making predictions, justifying decisions, providing solutions & giving explanations.
	Classifying objects according to more specific traits (e.g. form, colour, use or composition-what it is made of).
	Giving short oral reports.
	Using language at a higher level to make jokes, tease, engage in sarcasm, argue point of view, explaining complex situations, talking about movies or past events in detail.
	Writing descriptive paragraphs and stories.
	Using appropriate grammar (e.g. presents with immaturities).
7-8 years	Comprehending position concepts left and right.
	Comprehending concepts: same; different; season; time of day.
	Understanding the difference between reality and fantasy.
	Making predictions, justifying decisions, providing solutions & giving explanations.
	Classifying objects according to more specific traits (e.g. form, colour, use or composition-what it is made of).
	Giving short oral reports.
	Using language at a higher level to make jokes, tease, engage in sarcasm, argue point of view, explaining complex situations, talking about movies or past events in detail.
	Writing descriptive paragraphs and stories.
	Listening for a sustained period of time (e.g. attending to a guest speaker at school).
	Asking questions to clarify information.
	Problem solving.
	Expressing their opinion.
	Retelling both imaginary and real events.
	Using appropriate grammar in their speech and written work.

This checklist was designed to serve as a functional screening of developmental skills per age group. It does not constitute an assessment nor reflect strictly standardised research.

The information in this checklist was compiled over many years from a variety of sources. This information was then further shaped by years of clinical practice as well as therapeutic consultation with child care, kindergarten and school teachers in South Australia about the developmental skills necessary for children to meet the demands of these educational environments. In more recent years, it has been further modified by the need for children and their teachers to meet the functional Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) requirements that are not always congruent with standardised research.