Birth – 5 Months
6-9 Months
9 - 12 Months
12 - 18 Months
18 - 24Months
24 - 36 Months
· Sucks fingers when near mouth
· Recognizes a nipple or bottle
· Swallows with suckle swallow (tongue may protrude)
· Places hand on then later pats a bottle with one or both hands
· Holds a bottle with both hands
· Mouths and gums solid foods
· Opens mouth when a spoon is presented
· Finger feeding introduced
· Reaches for a spoon when presented
· Prefers for a parent to feed
· Chews with up & down munching pattern
· Uses upper lip to clear food from spoon
· Eats lumpy, mashed food
· Chews using rotary jaw action (emerging)
· Beginning cup drinking
· Begins to drink through a straw
· Grasps a spoon with a full hand
· Brings a full spoon to mouth
· Holds a cup with two hands
· Drinks with four or five consecutive swallows
· Gives up the bottle
· Scoops food with a spoon and brings to mouth with spillage
· Drinks from a cup with limited spillage
· Swallows with lip closure
· Self-feeds frequently
· Has precise up/down tongue movement
· Bites through a variety of food thicknesses
· Brings a spoon/fork to mouth, palm up, self-feeds with little spillage
· Holds a small, open cup in one hand with little spillage
· Chews with lips closed
· Chews with rotary jaw action
Feeding and Swallowing Disorders, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, www.asha.org
Morris, Suzanne Evans and Marsha Dunn Klein; Pre-Feeding Skills, Second Edition; Therapy Skill Builders; 2000.