See the age bands
Scan common communication patterns from later infancy through the preschool years.
Free printable resource
A speech milestones checklist for calmer observation.
Use the age-by-age pages to notice communication patterns, write down what you see, and prepare useful questions—without treating a checklist like a diagnosis.
3 printable pages · 6 months to 5 years · Immediate access · No email required
A first-step tool
Useful when you want orientation—not a verdict.
The checklist helps you move from a vague “I am not sure” feeling to a few concrete observations. It can be a starting point for noticing progress, deciding what to watch over time, and preparing a conversation with a pediatrician, audiologist, or speech-language pathologist.
Mark what you observe
Check only what you actually notice in daily life. Leave unknowns blank instead of testing or pressuring.
Write down questions
Use the notes area for specific examples, changes, context, and questions you may want to raise.
What is inside
Ten age checkpoints, help prompts, and room for notes.
The PDF is a compact reference, not a complete developmental assessment. It covers speech, language, gestures, listening, and broader communication in a simplified way.
6–9 months
Back-and-forth sounds, squeals, repeated babbling, name response, and gestures for connection.
1 year–18 months
Waving, understanding familiar words, first word attempts, pointing, showing, and one-step directions.
2 years
Two-word combinations, named pictures and body parts, and a wider range of gestures.
30 months–3 years
Growing vocabulary, action-word combinations, questions, names, and back-and-forth conversation.
4 years
Four-word sentences, songs and stories, talking about the day, and answering simple questions.
5 years
Stories with connected events, conversation across several exchanges, story questions, and rhymes.
Use it today
Four steps that keep the checklist in its proper role.
01
Download or print
Keep the PDF where you can return to it instead of trying to remember every item.
02
Choose the closest band
Use the age range as orientation. Children may show skills earlier or later within a range.
03
Notice ordinary moments
Observe meals, play, dressing, books, and transitions. Do not turn every interaction into a test.
04
Record one question
Write a concrete example, when it happened, and what you want to ask or watch next.
What the checklist can help with
- Remembering broad communication patterns by age band.
- Noticing examples in everyday life.
- Organizing questions before a professional conversation.
- Choosing whether a fuller tracking system would be useful.
What it cannot tell you
- Whether an individual child has a speech, language, hearing, or developmental condition.
- Whether waiting or treatment is right for your child.
- How a multilingual child should be assessed across languages.
- What individualized support or therapy is appropriate.
Evidence status
The checklist is reviewed and source-mapped.
The replacement PDF was checked on 5 August 2026 against the current CDC developmental-milestone framework, ASHA communication guidance, NIDCD speech and language guidance, and AAP multilingual guidance. It identifies its primary framework, sources, applicability, and limits on the resource itself.
Free and immediate
Download the checklist and notice one ordinary routine this week.
You do not need to check every box. Start with the closest age band, write one concrete observation, and use it to decide your next question.
Paid next step
Turn scattered observations into clearer notes.
The Speech and Development Tracker gives you age-band pages, four reusable weekly logs, an at-home support menu, and an appointment-preparation worksheet.
