| Although children raised in orphanages will
typically not be talking by 12 months of age, they progress through
developmental milestones that lay the foundation for spoken language to
emerge. It is important for parents to ask questions about these
milestones in order to have a complete picture of the infant's current
development and to make a prognosis for future development. Parents
should realize that orphanage
care frequently results in delays in language
development. However these delays appear to impact spoken
language development more than non-verbal social interaction
abilities. Therefore the milestones listed below are heavily focused
on social interaction skills. If videotapes of the child are available, or parents are able to meet
the child, then questions should be supplemented with observations of the
child. Children at this age typically do
not interact well with strangers or in new situations. Videotapes should be made of
the child interacting with a well-known adult caregiver in a familiar room. Parents meeting children for the first
time should later ask to watch the child interacting with well-known adult
caregivers, also in a room that is familiar to the child. Because
most children are adopted after 6 months of age, the developmental
skills on this list are focused on the 6-12 month old. Children adopted at
younger ages will not be able to complete all of these tasks. Listed
skills are based on several sources including Rosetti (1990), Wetherby and
Prizant (2002), and Glennen and Masters (2002).
 | Eyegaze and Facial Expressions
 | Does the infant make frequent eye contact with adults during
interactions? |
| Does the infant show signs of enjoying interactions with a
familiar adult, especially when eye contact is made? |
| When another person begins to talk, does the infant turn to look
towards the new voice? |
| Does the infant make 3-point gaze shifts by looking at
a toy in hand, then at an adult, then back to the toy? |
|
| Reaching and Gestures
| By 7-9 months of age, does the child use an open-hand
reach to indicate wanting an object or toy? |
| By 12 months of age, does the child anticipate being picked up?
(The child should hold up the arms when an adult starts to reach for the
child). |
| By 12 months of age, when an adult extends a hand in a "give
it to me" gesture, does the child give a toy in hand
to the adult? (At this age, the child might choose to not release the toy
from their hands but will either extend the toy towards the
adult's hand, or pull back on the toy to prevent an adult from
taking it away). |
|
| Play with Objects
| Does the infant under 8 months "play" by banging, mouthing,
and throwing objects? |
| By age 9-12 months, does the child begin to explore toys more?
For example, does the child push or spin parts of toys, turn toys
over, roll them back and forth, etc.? |
| Does the child repeat interesting actions with toys? For
example, if the child makes a toy produce an unusual noise, does
he attempt to make the noise again? |
| By 12 months of age, does the child know what to do with a few
objects used on a daily basis? For example,
when given a spoon or cup does the child attempt to feed
himself? |
|
| Language Comprehension
| By 12 months, does the child turn when his or her name is
called? (Parents should realize that this skill is often delayed in children raised
in groups because it takes longer for children to sort out which
name is theirs). |
| By 9-12 months of age, does the child momentarily stop what he
is doing if an adult says "no" in a firm voice? |
| By 12 months, does the child follow simple commands
such as "sit down" or "come here" if gestures are added to the
commands? |
|
| Spoken Language Production:
Of all areas of language development, this will most likely be
delayed in children raised in orphanages.
| Children raised in orphanages will
probably not be talking by this age. |
| Children should be trying to vocalize to
communicate. For example, does the child vocalize pleasure
when eye contact is made with an adult? Does the child
vocalize to get attention from an adult? |
| Does the child vocalize in response to an
adult's talking? |
| Does the child stop vocalizing when the
adult is talking? |
| Does the child "take turns"
vocalizing during "conversations" with adults? |
| For children 9-12 months, if the child
vocalizes a syllable and an adult imitates it back, does the child
repeat the same syllable? |
| Are any consonant sounds heard during
vocalizations? |
| For children who use reaching gestures,
does the child pair vocalizations with gesture attempts? |
|
| Oral Motor and Feeding Abilities
| Does the child eat from a spoon?
When eating, does the child's lips close around the spoon to clear
the food? |
| Does the child eat and enjoy foods with
soft textures? (oatmeal, kasha, mashed potatoes) |
| Does the child eat and enjoy foods that
require a little chewing such as soft biscuits, soft cookies, or
bananas? |
| When sitting at rest, does the child keep
his mouth closed or is the mouth frequently open? If the
child has a cold or allergies, the mouth needs to be open to allow
the child to breathe and the child will drool. If the child
doesn't have a cold or allergies, the mouth should be closed most
of the time. |
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