Speech Sounds (Articulation) Development Chart

Articulation refers to how clearly and accurately speech sounds are produced, typically developing in a set sequence.

Note: Each stage builds upon the previous.
How to use this chart: Check the child’s current and earlier skills. If earlier ones are missing, contact us.

Age

Developmental Milestones

Common errors

Potential impacts of missed milestones

0 - 6 months

6 - 12 months

1 - 2 years

⦿ Voicing - This is where sounds made with no voice are replaced with voiced sounds (e.g. car becomes gar, tea becomes dea)
⦿ Stopping - This is where sounds made with a long airflow are replaced by sounds made with a stopped airflow (e.g. sea becomes tea, shoe becomes to)
⦿ Final consonant deletion - The ends of words are often missed out (e.g. tap = ta)
⦿ Velar Fronting - This is where sounds made with the tongue hitting the back of the mouth (e.g. /k/ and /g/) are replaced with sounds made at the front of the mouth (e.g. /t/ and /d/) so car becomes tar, key becomes tea
⦿ Palatal Fronting - This is where the tongue is moved forward in the mouth so the sh sound becomes a /s/ sound
⦿ Weak Syllable Deletion - This is where non-stressed syllables are deleted from words (e.g. elephant becomes ephant)
⦿ Assimilation - The pronunciation of the whole word is influenced by the presence of a particular sound in the word (e.g. dog becomes gog)
⦿ Consonant Cluster Reduction - This is where clusters of consonants in words are reduced by one or more consonants (e.g. brick becomes bick, clown becomes cown)
⦿ De-affrication - This is where the affricate sounds sh, ch and j are replaced with fricative sounds (sh, /s/, /z/) or the /t/ or /d/ sound
⦿ Gliding - This is where the /l/ and the /r/ sounds are replaced with the /w/ or the y sound
⦿ The voiceless th sound (as in thank you) is replaced with a /f/ sound
⦿ The voiced th sound (as in with) is replaced with a /v/ sound

2 - 3 years

⦿ Voicing - Sounds made without voice are replaced with voiced ones (e.g. car becomes gar, tea becomes dea)
⦿ Stopping - Long airflow sounds are replaced with stopped airflow (e.g. sea becomes tea, shoe becomes to)
⦿ Final consonant deletion - Ends of words may be dropped (e.g. tap = ta)
⦿ Velar Fronting - Back of mouth sounds like /k/ and /g/ are replaced with front sounds like /t/ and /d/ (e.g. car becomes tar)
⦿ Palatal Fronting - The sh sound is produced further forward, becoming /s/
⦿ Weak Syllable Deletion - Unstressed syllables are omitted (e.g. elephant becomes ephant)
⦿ Assimilation - One sound influences another in a word (e.g. dog becomes gog)
⦿ Consonant Cluster Reduction - Consonant clusters are simplified (e.g. brick becomes bick, clown becomes cown)
⦿ De-affrication - Affricates (sh, ch, j) replaced by simpler fricatives or stops
⦿ Gliding - /l/ and /r/ are replaced by /w/ or y (e.g. run becomes wun)
⦿ The voiceless th (as in thank) is pronounced as /f/
⦿ The voiced th (as in with) is pronounced as /v/

3 - 4 years

⦿ Weak Syllable Deletion - Unstressed syllables may be omitted (e.g. elephant becomes ephant)
⦿ Assimilation - One sound influences the entire word (e.g. dog becomes gog)
⦿ Consonant Cluster Reduction - Consonant groups simplified (e.g. clown becomes cown)
⦿ De-affrication - Affricate sounds like sh, ch, and j are replaced with simpler sounds
⦿ Gliding - /l/ and /r/ are replaced with /w/ or y
⦿ The voiceless th (as in thank) is said as /f/
⦿ The voiced th (as in with) is said as /v/

4 - 5 years

5 - 6 years

6 - 7 years

7 - 8 years

This chart provides a functional screening of age-based developmental skills, not a formal assessment. It combines decades of multi-source data, clinical experience, and educator input from South Australian schools, adapted to align with practical ACARA curriculum requirements beyond standardized research.

Reference List Entry:
Kid Sense Child Development. (n.d.). Child development charts.

Content adapted and inspired by developmental milestone charts from Kid Sense Child Development (https://childdevelopment.com.au/). Credit to Kid Sense for foundational insights used in creating materials for Aliana Pediatric Therapy.