7-9 Month Milestones
GROSS MOTOR MILESTONES
Key Developmental Milestones
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General Movements: purposeful movements
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Prone: increased control of head and trunk when propping on hands | reaches for toys outside base of support | pivoting equally to both sides | four-point kneel +/- rocking back and forth | moving with alternate upper and lower limb movement (Eg. creeping or crawling)
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Supine: able to easily transition into prone, 4-point kneel and sitting
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Transfers: increase control when rolling from supine ⇋ prone | able to move from supine or prone into sitting | able to move from sitting to four-point kneel and crawling | may attempt pull to stand
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Sitting: able to sit independently | increased control of head and trunk | reaches for toys outside base of support and return to upright position without loss of balance | cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine extension | anterior, lateral and posterior protective reactions present
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Standing: able to accept entire weight through legs during supported standing | enjoys bouncing | may initially stand on toes | wide lower limb base of support
Further Diagnostic Testing / Referral
Proceed to examine the ‘tone’ and ‘reflexes and reactions’ component of the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) if the infant:
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Has not begun to roll prone ⇋ supine
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Does not sit independently or extend spine when sitting
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Has not begun to move (Eg. creeping or crawling)
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Does not take weight through lower limbs during supported standing
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Only uses only one side of the body to move
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Note: For a 7-9-month-old infant the following is expected:
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Pull to Sit: anticipates movement by pulling with upper limbs to sitting | able to maintain head and trunk control | head and shoulders flexed | upper limbs flexed | hips flexed | control lowering of head and trunk upon return to supine
The following link explains and demonstrates expected gross motor milestones of infants at 7-9 months.
FINE MOTOR MILESTONES
Key Developmental Milestones
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Reaches, grasps and examines objects equally with both hands
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Dissociation between thumbs and fingers
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Grasps objects with lateral pincer grasp
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Transfers objects from hand to hand
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Turns several pages of a chunky (board) book at once
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Experiments with the amount of force needed to pick up different objects
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Voluntary release of objects
Further Diagnostic Testing / Referral
Refer to a Paediatrician and Occupational Therapist if the infant:
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Does not show interest in holding objects
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Predominantly uses one hand
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Does not release objects on request
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Does not transfer objects from one hand to the other
COGNITIVE MILESTONES
Key Developmental Milestones
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Eyes smoothly track and follow objects near and far
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Alert to objects in peripheral vision
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Moves obstacle to reach desired object / toy
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Enjoys banging objects held in hands together
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Shows interest in picture books
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Drops toys to be received, handed back and then dropped again, and looks in direction of dropped toy
Further Diagnostic Testing / Referral
Refer to a Paediatrician if the infant:
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Does not visually track moving objects
The following link explains and demonstrates expected cognitive milestones of infants at 7-9 months.
COMMUNICATION MILESTONES
Key Developmental Milestones
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Uses increased variety of vowels and consonants when babbling communicatively
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Imitates sounds
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Says words such as ‘dada’ or ‘mama’
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Participates in two-way communication
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Responds to own name, family names and familiar objects
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Shows recognition of commonly used words (Eg. bye bye)
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Follows some routine commands when paired with gestures
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Uses simple gestures (Eg. shaking head for “no”, waving goodbye or pointing to something they desire)
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Listens with pleasure to sound making toys and music
Further Diagnostic Testing / Referral
Refer to a Paediatrician and Speech Pathologist if the infant:
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Does not use two-part babble (Eg. dada, mama) or make sounds
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Does not use simple gestures (Eg. pointing, showing, waving)
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Does not respond to own name
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Does not maintain eye contact during playful interaction
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Does not show interest in interacting with others
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Appears fearful of everyday sounds
Refer for a hearing test if the infant:
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Unresponsive to sounds or voices
SOCIAL / EMOTIONAL MILESTONES
Key Developmental Milestones
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Interested in interacting with others (Eg. peek a boo)
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Imitates actions and sounds during simple play (Eg. hand clapping)
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Maintains eye contact during playful interaction
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Actively explores and plays when parent present, returning occasionally for reassurance and interaction
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Enjoys playing with toys of varied texture
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Smiles at image in mirror
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Shows wariness at appearance of strangers
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Actively seeks to be next to parent or principle caregiver
Further Diagnostic Testing / Referral
Refer to a Paediatrician if the infant:
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Does not respond to familiar faces / carers
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Is not interested in interacting with others
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Does not share enjoyment with others using eye contact or facial expression
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Does not enjoy playing with toys of varied texture / musical toys / colourful objects
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Does not explore environment when placed on floor
The following link explains and demonstrates expected social / emotional milestones of infants at 7-9 months.
REFLEXES
Key Developmental Milestones
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Plantar Grasp Reflex: when the ball of an infant’s foot is touched, the infant’s toes will flex and adduct
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Parachute Reflex: when the infant is suspended in a prone position and turned face down toward the floor, the infant’s arms and wrists will extend as if the infant is trying to catch themselves. Asymmetry of the reflex is abnormal and may indicate paresis in the non-extended extremity
The following videos explain and demonstrate expected reflexes of infants at 7-9 months.
Video 24-25. Reflexes
(Larsen & Stensaas, 2019b)
The above information has been adapted from ACECQA (2015); Larsen & Stensaas (2019b); and Pathways (2019c).