Is your child a Gestalt Language Processor?

Gestalt language processing (GLP) is a fascinating area of study in the field of linguistics and speech-language pathology, particularly concerning children on the autism spectrum. Central to GLP are two types of echolalia: immediate echolalia and delayed echolalia. Both forms serve significant communicative and developmental functions, and understanding them can help caregivers, educators, and therapists support children in their language development journeys.

What is Echolalia?

Echolalia is the repetition or echoing of words and phrases that a person hears. For children who are gestalt language processors, this phenomenon is not merely a mimicry but a critical step in their language acquisition. Echolalia is typically categorized into two types: immediate and delayed.

Immediate Echolalia

Immediate echolalia occurs when a child repeats a phrase or sentence right after hearing it. This can be an exact reproduction of the utterance or a partial echo. For example, if an adult says, "Do you want a cookie?" the child may respond by repeating, "Do you want a cookie?"

Purposes of Immediate Echolalia

1. Communication: In many cases, immediate echolalia serves as a means of communication. The child may not have the words to respond directly but uses what they've heard to convey their desires or emotions.

2. Self-Regulation: Some children use immediate echolalia as a tool for self-soothing. Repeating a favorite phrase or song can provide comfort in overwhelming situations.

3. Processing Language: For gestalt language processors, immediate echolalia can be a way to process and internalize language structures. By echoing phrases, children are engaging in a form of rehearsal that aids in understanding syntax and context.

Delayed Echolalia

In contrast, delayed echolalia refers to the repetition of phrases heard at an earlier time. This can happen minutes, hours, days, or even weeks after the original utterance. For instance, a child might recall a line from a movie they watched a week ago and use it in a relevant context later on.

Purposes of Delayed Echolalia

1. Contextual Communication: Delayed echolalia often occurs when a child recognizes a situation that resembles the context in which they previously heard the phrase. This demonstrates their ability to make connections and apply learned language to new scenarios.

2. Narrative Skills: Repeating phrases from stories or media can be a way for children to express their understanding of narratives. They may use familiar lines to convey emotions or events from their lives.

3. Language Development: Just like immediate echolalia, delayed echolalia plays a crucial role in language acquisition. It allows children to experiment with language structures and vocabulary over time, facilitating a gradual transition to more spontaneous speech.

Gestalt Language Development Stages:

1. Use of whole gestalts, single word gestalts and/or intonationally defined strings of language. EX: "I'ts a beautiful day in the neighborhood". 
2. Breaking apart gestalts and/or taking parts of gestalts and combining them with other parts or chunks of language. EX: "It's a + scary story"
3. Feeing a single word from a gestalt and/or making a new two-word combination without regard to word order. EX: "day, rain + day". 
4. New original phrase or sentence with beginning grammar. EX: "It's a beautiful sun". 
5. Use of more complex grammar. EX: "Although it is beautiful idea, I cannot go that day".

** Gesalts do not need to be media based to be a gestalt **

Is my child a Gestalt Language Processor? 

Think about these things: 

• do they have rich intonation
• do they use scripts/ gestalts
• unintelligible strings of language
• single words
• the child is not responding well to 'traditional' therapy approaches
• "taught" phrases have not progressed
• single words stay single words as the child is not combining them to create 2-3 word phrases
• language is used "in context" but appears inflexible and limited to specific content

What you CAN do for GLPs:

1. Child-Led: observe, be flexible, and respect

2. Hear what they are saying: be quiet, listen, and acknowledge what they say

3. Investigate: Identify source of gestalt, identify intent, model

4. Language should be natural: kid-friendly language, a variety of language, no prompting

5. Decrease questions: observe rather question, comment on what they are doing, narrate their play