ELEVEN- TO TWELVE- MONTH TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST (©Diane Bahr) Place a check mark next to the characteristics you see in your eleven- to twelve-month-old baby.
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Typical 11- to 12- Month-Old Baby |
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| MOUTH/FEEDING DEVELOPMENT | ||||
| Integrates involuntary suckling reflex (seems to be disappearing 6-12 months) | ||||
| Has integrated gag reflex (now found on back of the tongue secondary to appropriate feeding & mouthing experiences) | ||||
| Integrates transverse (side) tongue reflex (seems to be disappearing 9-24 months) | ||||
| Integrates phasic (up-down) bite reflex (seems to be disappearing 9-12 months) | ||||
| Uses increasing diagonal rotary jaw movement (6-11 months) | ||||
| Uses mirror neurons in feeding making it important for care-providers to participate in & demonstrate eating & drinking activities (This is a social, interactive process) | ||||
| Gets top 2 front teeth (central incisors) between 8 & 12 months; removes food from bottom lip with top front teeth | ||||
| Gets bottom lateral incisors (10-16 months) | ||||
| Gets top lateral incisors (9-13 months) | ||||
| Has closed mouth & easy nose breathing during sleep & when mouth is inactive/empty | ||||
| Rests tongue in the roof of the closed mouth to help maintain palate shape | ||||
| Is free of tethered oral tissues (tongue, lip, &/or cheek ties) | ||||
| Sucks liquid from breast &/or bottle with up-down tongue & jaw movement | ||||
| Increases suck, swallow, breathe sequences on the breast &/or bottle (different on breast than bottle) | ||||
| Learns to manage appropriate food & liquid textures; relies less on breastfeeding & bottle-feeding over time | ||||
| Drinks from an open or recessed-lid cup placed at lips, but not into lip corners | ||||
| Drinks more than 3 consecutive sucks from open or recessed-lid cup with improving jaw control (9-15 months) | ||||
| Drinks from a straw with straw placed only on lips (6-12 months) | ||||
| Uses 3 or more continuous, consecutive sucks during proper straw-drinking (6-12 months) | ||||
| Removes food from a spoon with upper lip movement | ||||
| Moves lower lip inward when spoon removed (6-12 months) | ||||
| Can close lips when swallowing | ||||
| Holds spoon, and can pass a food pieces from one hand to the other | ||||
| Uses up-down tongue movement when sucking food from spoon (11 months) | ||||
| Picks up small food pieces with thumb and fingers (9-12 months) | ||||
| Uses jaw movements matching shape & size of the food when taking bites & chewing | ||||
| Tightens lips & cheeks to keep food in place during chewing on side where food is placed | ||||
| Moves lips with chewing | ||||
| Moves lips inward slightly when food remains on them; moves lip corner & cheek inward on the side of chewing (8-11 months) | ||||
| Moves upper lip forward & downward during chewing (8-12 months) | ||||
| Moves lower lip inward while removing food with upper incisors (9-21 months) | ||||
| Uses lips & cheeks to control & move food (8-18 months) | ||||
| Uses up-down biting & chewing/munching on a hard cookie (6-19 months) | ||||
| Uses diagonal rotary chewing on the side where food is placed | ||||
| Bites through a soft cookie (7-12 months) | ||||
| Moves tongue up & down with the jaw, and moves tongue toward small pieces of food on the side gums | ||||
| Begins to move the tongue independently from the jaw during sucking (7-11 months); transfers food from center of tongue to both sides of mouth (7-12 months) | ||||
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9-12 Month Foods/Liquids (unless advised otherwise by pediatrician, dietician, etc.) |
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| Soft, cut-up cooked and safe, soft, cut-up uncooked foods (such as bananas, skinned peaches, peeled avocado, etc.); introduce citrus slowly. | ||||
| Cooked fruit or vegetable strips. | ||||
| Soft, chopped meats (such as stewed chicken, no bone; ground meat; no fish). | ||||
| Casseroles with noodles, pasta, or rice. | ||||
| Bread, toast, crackers, dry cereal without sugar (no chocolate). | ||||
| Eggs (yolks at 9 months, whites at 12 months) and cheese (soft cheese strips, cottage cheese, yogurt formulated for babies). | ||||
| Sips of water, formula, or breast milk from an open-, recessed lid-, or straw-cup | ||||
| Breast milk or formula from breast or bottle, allowing baby to self-limit. | ||||
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BODY DEVELOPMENT (Typical 11- to 12- Month Old) |
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| Full Body Reflexes | ||||
| Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex/Response: The flexion part of this response is usually integrated by the brain by 4 months; the extension part of this response may take as long as 3 ½ years | ||||
| Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex/Response: Develops between 6 and 9 months; seems to disappear (become integrated by the brain) around 12 months | ||||
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When Sitting (Typical 11-Month-Old) |
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| Long-leg, side, and ring/circle sits quietly during dressing and fine-motor activities (i.e., eating, drinking, speaking, vision use, and hand use) | ||||
| Side-sits in a variety of ways, as well as rotates trunk/core when reaching for objects | ||||
| Imitates and does activities in unison with others (mirror neurons engaged), and helps with dressing/undressing | ||||
| Handles and inspects toys with hands and eyes using hands in an increasingly sophisticated manner (e.g., placing one container into another) | ||||
| Moves easily from sitting to crawling | ||||
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When Sitting (Typical 12-Month-Old) |
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| Has increasing shoulder stability and reaches for toys across middle of body (midline) using trunk rotation | ||||
| Spends considerable amounts of time examining and exploring many toys | ||||
| Favors container play, putting pegs in holes, as well as turning objects and pages | ||||
| Imitates everyday activities such as dressing and cooking with clothing, pots, and pans | ||||
| Uses two hands to put similar objects together (e.g., blocks) | ||||
| Coordinates hand and wrist movements using bilateral integration, touch, and proprioception (inner awareness in muscles and joints) | ||||
| Uses fingertips and thumb for increasingly refined pincer grasp | ||||
| Releases large objects easily from hands, but is awkward when releasing small objects from hands | ||||
| Moves effortlessly from sitting to crawling, kneeling, squatting, and standing | ||||
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From Hands and Knees (Typical 11-Month-Old) |
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| Uses crawling as the primary means of movement toward objects and people | ||||
| Will crawl in and out of appropriate large containers (e.g., stable laundry baskets placed on the side) | ||||
| Improves motor planning, perception, and body awareness via movement and interaction with the environment | ||||
| Moves easily from crawling to kneeling (often used as part of reaching for objects or people) | ||||
| Brings one leg forward from crawling to partial half-kneeling, places weight on hands and one foot, and brings other leg forward to play in squatting | ||||
| Can move easily from standing to squatting to standing | ||||
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From Hands and Knees (Typical 12-Month-Old) |
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| Can crawl (primary means of moving), half-kneel, and squat (dissociation increasing in hips and legs) | ||||
| Uses kneeling and half-kneeling for reaching (dynamic stability in trunk, hips, and legs) | ||||
| Squats with improved hip and knee mobility using ankles and feet to balance | ||||
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When Climbing (Typical 11-Month-Old) |
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| Prefers climbing as a favored activity and moves easily from climbing to sitting | ||||
| Can be taught to move downward from furniture and stairs | ||||
| Practices climbing and descending from a variety of surfaces of differing heights and textures (increasing problem-solving skills) | ||||
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When Climbing (Typical 12-Month-Old) |
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| Climbs into/onto anything considered explorable (challenges/stimulates sensory-motor skills) | ||||
| Uses sensory processing and motor planning for intentional movement | ||||
| Places foot on a step/lifts body onto step with arms from standing | ||||
| Raises leg over a rail stabilizing with hands | ||||
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When Standing (Typical 11-Month-Old) |
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| Rises from a squat position with symmetry and wide base of support (feet apart) without using hands | ||||
| Rises from half-kneeling with one hand placed on furniture | ||||
| Can play with a toy using two hands while standing with a wide base of support | ||||
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When Standing (Typical 12-Month-Old) |
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| Rises to stand from hands and knees (without help) by shifting weight toward hips, freeing hands/arms, raising the trunk, and symmetrically straightening hips and knees | ||||
| Uses a wide base of support (feet apart) to stand without assistance | ||||
| Lowers to sitting by shifting weight toward the hips while bending the hips and knees | ||||
| Begins playing with toys formerly used in sitting | ||||
| May initially fix upper trunk/shoulders/arms limiting toy play | ||||
| Shifts weight from leg-to-leg, lifts unweighted leg placing it into a container, uses motor planning to place other leg into container (initially fixes upper trunk/shoulders/arms) | ||||
| Explores/experiments with reaching forward with unweighted leg (motor plan needed for walking) | ||||
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When Walking (Typical 11-Month-Old) |
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| Cruises furniture and tries walking with one hand held or holding onto adult’s arm | ||||
| Continues fixing shoulder girdle and upper trunk/core for stability, but shifts weight with increasing ease on supported side of body (i.e., while holding hand or arm of care provider) | ||||
| Begins to attempt unsupported walking with a feet apart (wide base); fixing/tightening of upper trunk, shoulders, and arms; and leaning the trunk/core toward the weight-bearing leg | ||||
| Initially moves quickly, has poor balance, and falls or is caught by parent or care provider | ||||
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When Walking (Typical 12-Month-Old) |
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| Walks fast with short stride/step length, wide base, and no alternating arm swing (fixing of upper trunk and arms decreases over time with practice) |
Primary References
•Bahr, D. (2018). Feed your baby and toddler right: Early eating and drinking skills encourage the best development. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.
•Bahr, D. C., & Hillis, A. E. (2001). Neurological and anatomical bases. In D. C. Bahr Oral motor assessment and treatment: Ages and stages (pp. 1-41). USA: Pearson College Division.
•Bly, L. (1994). Motor skills acquisition in the first year: An illustrated guide to normal development. USA: Psychological Corp.
•Feldenkrais, M. (1972). Awareness through movement (Vol. 1977). New York: Harper and Row.
•Morris, S. E., & Klein, M. D. (2000). Pre-Feeding skills: A comprehensive resource for mealtime development. (2nd ed.)
. San Antonio, TX: Therapy Skill Builders.
•Neuro Restart (2019). Primitive reflexes. Retrieved from http://www.neurorestart.co.uk/primitive-reflexes/
•Vulpe, S. G. (1994). Vulpe assessment battery-revised: Developmental assessment, performance analysis, individualized programming for the atypical child. East Aurora, NY: Slosson Educational Publications.