How do I know if my child’s speech is on track for their age?

Compare your child against age-appropriate speech and language milestones — words and phrases, sentence length, intelligibility to strangers, and target sounds. SpeechStep’s free Milestone Checker asks 10 questions written for your child’s own age band (2–5 years today) and tells you how many of those milestones are met, plus an On Track / Watch / Refer status, in about two minutes. It is a screener, not a norm-referenced test: there is no percentile, because we have no normative sample to compute one against.

Is the Speech Milestone Checker a diagnosis?

No. It is a screener, not a diagnosis. It helps you see whether your child is developing typically and which sounds to keep an eye on. When in doubt, talk to a licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP).

Which sounds are normal to still be developing at age 3?

Sounds like “S” and “R” are commonly still developing at age 3 and are flagged as “watch,” not “fail.” They typically firm up over the next couple of years with everyday practice.

Do I need a microphone or an account to use the checker?

No microphone, no recording, and no account are required. You answer simple yes / sometimes / not-yet questions and see how many milestones are met, plus the status, free on-screen.

Free · 2 minutes · No mic

Is my child's speech on track for their age?

Answer 10 questions written for your child's own age and see how many speech milestones are met — like Emma, 3 yrs 4 mo → 8 of 10 milestones met · On Track, scored against the 3-year-old question set, with the sounds still typically developing at that age. No microphone, no account, free.

Question sets exist for ages 2–5. This is a screener, not a norm-referenced test — it tells you which milestones are met, not a percentile, because we have no normative sample to compute one against.

SpeechStepMilestone Checker

How old is your child?

We'll ask a few age-appropriate questions — no mic, no account, free.

Years

Months

First name (optional)

Shown on your result only — never stored.

This is a screener, not a diagnosis. When in doubt, talk to a licensed SLP.