Brief-write up

‍Speech and language skills are the most fundamental skills that develop during the early stages of life, prominently during the first few years of life. In general terms speech and language are the skills that we use to communicate with others, however, if you focus on these skills in detail there are some differences between speech and language. They are as follows:
Speech refers to the use of sound which later develops into words,
Language refers to the use of words or gestures to communicate with another person and understand what the other person is saying.

Research state that the first few years of the child’s life are crucial for speech and language development because the brain of the child is maturing and it absorbs any exposure to sounds and language instantly and facilitate the development of speech and language skills.

Children vary in their development of speech and language skills, however, a speech and language milestone listing the natural progression of mastering the skills of language will serve as a guide to both caregivers and professionals to determine if the child’s speech and language development are on track or the child is displaying signs of speech and language delays.

‍Why use this checklist?

Eblity’s Speech and Language Milestones Checklist s adapted from Speech and Language Milestones that need to develop in a child according to his/her age levels. By using this checklist you will be able to determine if your child/student has met the speech and language milestones requirements for his/her age-level. This will help you in identifying children with speech and language delays or deficits and initiate the process of early intervention by contacting the professionals for early identification through formal assessment. ‍

Who can use this checklist?

‍Parents, Caregivers Professionals, and Educators who are wanting to determine if age-level speech and language milestones are met for your child/student between the age of 6 months to 7 years.

Although a child’s language development is still evolving during the early years of life - there are some prerequisites skills for speech and language development which are also crucial to indicate the child’s communication skills, so this checklist tries to pay attention to those skills to help young caregivers and professionals better understand their child.

‍Point to Note/Disclaimer

‍A checklist is the first step towards intervention and is not a formal diagnostic tool and can never replace the accuracy of any formal assessment tool. It can just be used for reference purposes and not for diagnosis.