SAGE Advice 3: My preschooler is smart but is hard to understand in conversation? What is going on?

It is important to understand that there is PLENTY of variability in the preschool ages. That being said, Speech Language Pathologists do adhere to guidelines about expected intelligibility, or clarity, of a child’s speech.  At age 2, we expect children to be about 50% intelligible to an unfamiliar listener.  This number jumps to 75% at age 3, and close to 100% at age 4.

There are many factors that relate to intelligibility, including articulation of individual speech sounds, the ability to correctly produce sound types (“back” or velar sounds, “tongue tip” or alveolar sounds, etc.), as well as rate of speech, second language development, and more.

Early intervention is incredibly important to prevent difficulty in the later preschool or early elementary years! Speak with a licensed Speech Language Pathologist about whether your child is an appropriate candidate for intervention.