For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Perri, the speech therapist at Cheerful Helpers. I had my start at Cheerful Helpers as an intern in 2018-2019 before completing my graduate degree in Communication Science and Disorders. I spent my first 4 years out of graduate school working in the clinic setting with kids of all ages. I am so happy to be back now as part of this amazing team in this incredibly special place.
In December, I presented to the staff on gestalt language processing. I found it important to share knowledge on this topic because so many of our students learn language in this way. Gestalt language processing is a unique, natural way of developing language. In the early stages of learning language, gestalt language processors (GLPs) use delayed echolalia (often called gestalts or “scripts”) that a child has attached meaning to, to communicate. First gestalts often come from music and media. While not all gestalt language processors are autistic, most
autistic individuals are gestalt language processors.
I provided the staff with tips to implement in the classroom in order to best support our students,
and these tips are also beneficial to implement in the home environment. Here is a summary:
1) Tip 1: Acknowledge and Affirm Language. If you can understand what your child is saying, repeat it back. If you can’t understand their words, acknowledge you heard them by smiling, nodding, saying, “I hear you”, or repeating back the intonation/rhythm of what they said. This lets the child know we value their gestalts as communication, and it builds language trust. Echolalia is meaningful.
2) Tip 2: Model in Their Words.Think about modeling what your child would want to say in that moment. Because our GLPs use delayed echolalia / repeating what they hear to communicate, model in a way that if they imitated it, it would make sense for them. You can do this by modeling language using their perspective (“I like it”, “I’m hungry”), a joint
perspective (“Let’s go”, “We did it”), or a neutral perspective (“Time for snack”, “It’s so hot”). We want to try to avoid directly prompting them to say words, and rather model phrases that come up naturally that they can imitate or use when they are ready. It can take time.
3) Tip 3: Reduce Questions. Our early stage GLPs do not yet have the flexible verbal language to reliably answer questions. Questions can also build pressure, feel overwhelming, or lead to prompt dependency. When wanting to ask a question, think about how to reword it to a statement or comment instead. If needing to ask a question, it can be helpful to offer choices with visuals.
4) Tip 4: Increase Intonation. GLPs often pick up on language that is rich in intonation and emotion. For example, when a child is having a lot of fun, try modeling in an excited voice, “This is fun!”, “I like it!”. You can also exaggerate to create an emotional element, like if something falls, dramatically modeling “Oh no, it fell!” Singing is also a great way to increase
intonation. You can sing familiar songs that match the scenario (e.g., the clean up song) or create your own about what you are doing.
5) Tip 5: Do the Detective Work to Figure out the Underlying Meaning of Gestalts.
Gestalts are often not literal. Figuring out where they came from and what emotion was tied to it can help us better understand what our kids are trying to communicate. For example, a child might say, “To infinity and beyond!” to express excitement or indicate they want to go somewhere.
