To help educate parents, caregivers, and related professionals about the development
of speech, language, hearing, feeding and swallowing skills, the American Speech
Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) has recently updated its developmental
milestones for hearing, speech, and language (birth to 5) and added a new resource on
feeding and swallowing milestones (birth to 3).
The communication (hearing, speech, language) milestones show the ages by which at
least 75% of American English–speaking children have developed communication skills.
Each milestone is supported by research and includes a reference list. The feeding and
swallowing milestones checklist (which is also available in Spanish) reports the ages by
which at least 75% of children worldwide have mastered the skills. They are based on
international research data.
It should be noted that children develop at their own pace, and that missing one or two
skills within an age range may not indicate a problem. These milestone charts show
when most children within an age range typically reach that milestone. These charts are
not meant to be used as screening tools, but to serve as a guide for when to seek
professional help.
ASHA also provides ASHAStream videos, which feature ASHA staff members offering
guidance on how to use the checklists. For the communication (hearing, speech and
language) milestones video, you can click here. You can watch the video pertaining to
the development of feeding and swallowing here.
If you are not certain if your child is meeting their communication or feeding milestones
within expected ages, contact the team of speech-language pathologists at Wee
Speech. We are available to answer your questions!
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