What is Articulation?
Articulation is the production and quality of how speech sounds are produced.👄 Most children will never struggle when it comes to articulation, and will reach the milestones of normal speech development. Some children will even reach those markers much quicker than others.👶
Markers for Vocalizing
And then there are some children who take much longer to reach the same markers as the average child. Before you throw in the towel let’s get a little understanding on what those normal milestones are. Finally let’s take a look at what you can do to maybe improve your kiddo’s chances to “speak” at the expected level.👍
Use Age Ranges
First off think of age ranges and not specific ages when it comes to achieving those speech markers. Also, keep in mind that the list of markers isn’t exhaustive; we’re only including a few examples.
Vocalizing and Babbling
Another thing to keep in mind: vocalizing begins with the baby’s first cry. 
Vocalizing is simply the attempt of communication with another person, primarily the person who will be taking care of the baby. Vocalizing continues to develop and become more complex as the baby gets older. Babbling is the initial attempt at vocalizing, when the baby makes random sounds, usually repeatedly.
Average Milestones
- 0-6 months: turns to the source of sounds, makes different cries for different needs, watches your face as you talk, imitates coughs or other sounds
- 6-12 months: starts to babble and repeat sounds, responds to their name, has one or two words even if they’re not clear
- 1-2 years: follows simple directions, says more words every month, combines lots of sounds as though talking
- 2-3 years: has a word for almost everything, forms words and sounds easily and effortlessly, speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time
- 3-4 years: talks about activities at school or friend’s homes, people outside family usually understand child’s speech, usually talks easily without repeating words or syllables
- 4-5 years: voice sounds clear like other children’s, follows group directions, knows all the letters of the alphabet
The dreaded “s,” “l,” “r” 
3-6 years: IMPORTANT NOTE: they should be able to say the “s,” “l,” and “r” sounds
That milestone comes last because the ability to say these letters, or lack thereof, is a growing concern for a lot of parents.
Warning Signs
Now onto the next important part: what do you do if your child isn’t hitting those markers? Here are warning signs to keep track of: limited eye gaze and/or limited shared interest in others. Some other important signs are lack of response to their name. Also, using more gestures than words to communicate things, repeating exactly what you say rather than responding, and a loss in any social or language skills are a few more signs.
SLP’s Can Help
In the event that you do recognize these traits, I would suggest you seek out the help of a speech and language pathologist (SLP). They will evaluate your child and let you know if treatment is needed. I cannot stress enough how early intervention can make a HUGE difference in treating speech and language challenges.
Strategies for Home and Family Use
Here are some tips and strategies you can use to help your child catch up if you think they’re not quite achieving those markers:
- 0-6 months: speak face to face with your baby, talk to your baby all the time no matter what you’re doing, read to them
- 6-12 months: again, face your baby when you talk so that they can see how you say things, avoid baby talk and refer to objects by their correct name, play social games that involve lots of repetition like “peek-a-boo” and “patty-cake”
- 1-2 years: talk about what interests your baby, sing songs like “Head and Shoulders” to name body parts, let your child watch while you do simple household tasks
- 2-3 years: play with your toddler in lots of different ways by using puzzles, blocks, sand and play dough, model correct grammar for your child, sing songs that end with rhyming words and talk about how the words sound the same
- 3-4 years: read stories that have repetition and ask your child to predict what will happen next, ask her questions about things she finds interesting, talk about the similarities and differences of toys, rocks, balls, etc.
- 4-5 years: sing songs that end with rhyming words and make up new verses, 🎶encourage her to start a conversation and ask questions, then add information and get a new answer, look for and identify letters in books, DVD’s and cereal boxes
Developing Skill
Speech and language development is gained by watching, then doing, then repeating, over and over again, just like any other skill. The most important tool for change is for the mother to speak to and interact with her child every day, in just about every activity. For some babies and toddlers, progress may be incredibly slow, but that just makes success so much more satisfying. 😀