How much of my child’s speech should I understand?

Frequently, we get calls from parents asking, “How much of my child’s speech should I understand?” or “How much of my child’s speech should others understand?” Often, parents understand their children better than others. If their child exhibits articulation errors, parents often become the translator between their child and their communicative partner.

Speech intelligibility refers to the percentage of conversational speech clearly understood by unfamiliar listeners. When children have decreased speech intelligibility due to articulation errors, they can become frustrated when others do not understand them, act out (e.g., hit, bite, etc.), or just give up on the conversation.

Listed below are age expectancies for speech intelligibility in conversational speech: 

•  19-24 months       25%-50% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners 
•  2-3 years              50%-75% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners
• 4-5 years              75%-90% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners
• 5+ years               90%-100% intelligible to unfamiliar listeners

If you have concerns with your child’s speech sound production or speech intelligibility in conversational speech, feel free to contact Bright Beginnings to speak to a speech language pathologist or schedule a free speech-language screening.