If you are talking to a child with a learning disability, then just like any other child the aims of the successful consultation are to:

1. Identify and fix the perceived problem or problems of the child and parent (these may be different)
2. Treat everyone in the consultation as equals
3. Attend to any emotional concerns the child and family has due to the child's condition.

Richard Goodwin, specialist paediatric pharmacist at Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has the following tips:

• Try to get to the same physical level as the child
• Ask open questions, for example what they have planned for today or picking up on what TV they are watching in hospital. This breaks the ice and allows you to gauge what type of language to use
• Start with the basics first, for example what the medicine is for and when to take it. You may need to reinforce this and build the information and their knowledge slowly through multiple visits
• Be mindful of their and your body language and facial expressions. Try to match your facial expression with what you say. For example if you are talking about something happy, have a smiling face to reinforce this
• Remember to avoid jargon
• Don't try to be cool.