What Counts as a Word?
As a speech-language pathologist, when evaluating children for speech therapy I have to ask the parents, “How many words does your child have?” Then we talk about what actually counts as a word? This post will answer that question!
“Words need to be consistent, independent and intentional.”
1) Consistent: Children use this sign, vocalization, sound for the same thing over and over. They might say “beep beep” for car. If they use this sound always to indicate a car, then this counts as a word!
2)Independent: Children spontaneously use the word. They use the word by themselves without directly imitating an adult or another child. If they repeat what you’ve said, it does not count as a word yet.
3)Intentional: It counts as a word if a child uses a word, sound or sign for a specific reason. They might use the sign, vocalization or sound to request an item (looking toward a juice and saying “mmmm”, to comment (pointing at a car and saying ‘beep”), to label (seeing a broken toy and saying “uh oh”) or negate (i.e shaking their head no when asked if they want to nap).
So let’s see what counts as a word:
Do exclamatory sounds count as words?
YES! A child may say “uhoh” when they spill their drink, or when they fall down. They are using this as a word because they are spontaneously using the sounds over and over for a specific event. Often exclamatory sounds are the first sounds that children use. These words do not demand as much motor speech control as other words and they are fun to say! Some other examples of exclamatory sounds are “wheee”, “yummy”, and “Boo”. I developed a set of 21 EXCLAMATORY SOUND PICTURE CARDS to use during play activities or use as flashcards to facilitate production of these early words.
Do animal sounds count as words?
YES! Animal books, puzzles and figures are early learning toys that can promote production of animal sounds like “quack quack”, “meow” and the sound a pig makes (not necessarily “oink”, but the intake of air through the nose). All of these vocalizations count when they are consistently used for the same animal. These ANIMAL SOUND PICTURES CARDS can assist with facilitation of production of animal sounds!
Do word approximations count?
Yes! Remember, if the approximation is intentional, independent and consistent it counts as a word, even if the word does not sound like it should. When beginning to talk, children often use words that might sound a little like the “real” word but not exactly. A child might say “mu” for “more” or “ow” for “outside”, but this still counts as a word. As a child’s speech and language develop, these words should become closer to sounding like the true word, and if they don’t, that may indicate that there is a speech or language delay or disorder.
Do gestures and sign language count as words?
This answer is yes and no.
If we are talking about intentional communications or messages that the child is using, then the answer is yes. The child might use the “eat” sign for food consistently and intentionally. This would count as a “message”.
If we are talking about vocalizations that the child is using, then sign language or gestures would not count as words. That is not to say that gestures and sign language are not important communication methods. Gestures and signs should always be encouraged and are a part of meaningful communication and can also augment or assist verbal communication.
I often categorize a child’s messages into groups:
1) Vocalizations (what a child says verbally)
2) Gestures or sign language
3) Using pictures for communication.
This classification system helps determine the method a child is currently using to get their message across to a peer or adult.
Does pointing to or giving pictures count as a word?
Again, the answer is yes and no.
When counting messages or communicative instances, then yes, pointing to a picture to request or comment would count. A child may use AAC (augmentative/alternative communication) to point to or access a picture to communicate their message. If children are having difficulty using spoken language, AAC is an important tool for the child to be able to communicate.
If we are talking about verbal words, then no, pictures do not count as vocalizations. Using the classification system I mentioned above is important so all messages are “counted” in some way.
Do letters and numbers count as words?
They can, but it depends on the scenario. If a child is rote counting or saying the ABC’s one after the other, then no, that does not count as a word.
If a child is using the word “one” to indicate “one more”, or “two” to indicate that they want “two cookies” then it would count as a word. As far as saying the name of a letter, this gets a little tricky. I may count a letter as a word if they are requesting a specific letter (but I would not count each letter as a word because that would inflate the child’s communicative word count).
What counts as 2 words versus 1 word?
Words that are often chunked together with one meaning like “all done” or “Thank you” would be counted as 1 word (even though they have 2 words in them).
Two words that each hold different meanings in the message count as 2 words, for example, “go out”, “my cup”.
