How can you determine if an 11-month-old female has decreased mental status and is responsive to verbal stimuli?

The ability of an 11-month-old female to locate her parents' voices when they speak indicates an appropriate level of responsiveness and cognitive function. At this age, infants have typically developed the ability to recognize familiar voices, which is a sign of normal auditory processing and engagement with their environment. If she is able to attempt to locate voices, it suggests that she is aware of her surroundings and capable of responding to auditory stimuli, which aligns with a baseline of mental status.

Responses such as being upset when taken from a caregiver, while indicative of attachment and emotional responses, do not specifically assess cognitive responsiveness to stimuli. Similarly, not being able to verbalize her age is not a reliable indicator of mental status at this developmental stage, as a child of 11 months is not expected to have the ability to express themselves verbally in that way. Lastly, while reacting to pain indicates some level of responsiveness, it does not directly measure cognitive engagement with verbal stimuli, which is what the question specifically asks about.