Paediatrics in GP

Question 1

What is a speech impairment?

Answer 1

Problems with the production of sounds and articulation of words

Question 2

What is expressive language impairment?

Answer 2

Difficulty in conveying information

Question 3

What is receptive language impairment?

Answer 3

Difficulty in understanding what others say

Question 4

At what age should a child have a single word vocabulary of 50-100 words and begin using two word utterances?

Answer 4

21 months

Question 5

At what age should a child be able to link two to three words together?

Answer 5

2.5 years

Question 6

At what age should a child begin to use complex sentences?

Answer 6

3 years - rule pf thumb is that by 3 years a child should be able to string 3 or more words together to make some kind of sense

Question 7

At what age should a child be using more adult grammatical structures and be intelligible the majority of the time?

Answer 7

5 years

Question 8

At what age should a child know their own name and several simple words like ‘no@

Answer 8

12 months

Question 9

At what age should a child be able to select objects on verbal request, point out body parts and follow simple commands?

Answer 9

18 months

Question 10

At what age should a child be able to follow commands using two key ideas?

Answer 10

2 years

Question 11

How much of a child’s speech should be understandable from age 1-4 (use the rule of 4s)

Answer 11

Rule of 4 = child’s age in years divided by four gives roughly how much of their speech should be understandable to strangers

1 year = 1/4 of speech
2 years = 1/2 of speech
3 years = 3/4 of speech
4 years = intelligible most of the time

Question 12

Do multilingual children pass milstones quicker, slower or at the same pace as monolingual children?

Answer 12

At the same pace

Question 13

A multilingual child mixing two languages is not a cause for concern. True or false?

Answer 13

True

Question 14

What red flags should trigger a speech and language referral rather than watchful waiting?

Answer 14

• Poor receptive abilities (eg not understanding simple commands at 18 months)
• Regression in communication skills
• Poor social communication (eg not responding to name, not engaging in games, not showing parent/carer objects of interest)
• Concerns about speech and language from more than one source (eg parents and nursery)
• The child themselves noting the problem and experiencing negative social consequences
• Concern over behaviour / child showing frustration over language difficulties

Question 15

Only speaking around 10 words at age 2 is a major concern. True or false?

Answer 15

False - 15% of 2 year olds are ‘late talking toddlers’ and half will develop normal speech by 3-5