Advocating for Gestalt Language Processors

Gestalt Language Processors (GLPs) are children who develop language in chunks and gradually breaks down these chunks to use them in a flexible, self-generated manner. Advocating for a Gestalt Language Processor is important because many people are not familiar with this normal, natural way of developing language. 

To better understand how a Gestalt Language Processor develops, it's helpful to compare their development to Analytic Language Processors (ALPs). ALPs are kids who who develop language by initially babbling, then saying first words, and gradually combining these words into phrases and sentences. Their language development is what most people are familiar with, so when a child does not develop that way, many people do not understand it. Gestalt Language Development is a typical, natural way of developing language. Some children will not need support moving through the stages of development, while other GLPs will benefit from support to progress- in the same way, some ALPs need support and some do not.

There are many ways to identify a GLP, which we detail in this previous blog. It's important to identify Gestalt Language Processors, so we can advocate for their needs and provide them with the best type support. The start of the school year is a great time to start collaborating with members of your child or client's team. 

Let's talk about some people who may be interacting with your child or client and ways you can discuss gestalt language with them to ensure the child is understood and supported:

Teachers: 

• Ask your child's/client's teacher if they know about gestalt language development. It's okay if they aren't familiar with it; there are many people who are still learning that there is more than one way to develop language. What is important though is that they are willing to learn and acknowledge that gestalt language development exists and is a normal, natural way of developing language. 

• Let them know that your child is a GLP and you'd love to share some resources with them about it. Here is a link to a handbook created by BohoSpeechie that has some great handouts to share with teachers about gestalt language development and best practices for interacting with a GLP. You can use code: MEGHAN to receive 10% off (I'm an affiliate, so I earn a small commission on her sales of the handbook). If you're working with a speech therapist, you can also ask them to share handouts with you and your child's team. At Speech Language Play NYC, we have handouts we like to share for this purpose and would be happy to provide them with our client's team!

Related Service Providers -

Speech Therapists: It's important for your child to work with a speech therapist who acknowledges gestalt language as a valid way for a child to develop language and understands the stages of development. At Speech Language Play NYC, our speech therapists have training in gestalt language and are passionate about supporting children who develop language this way.

Occupational Therapists/Mental Health Therapists/ Physical Therapists, etc: Although not formally supporting language development it's helpful for all your child's providers to understand their language to better understand them as a whole. Ideally all related services can collaborate with each other to carryover the work each specialist is doing in their sessions. 

Music Therapists: GLPs are nicknamed intonation babies because they're very attuned to the rhythms and melodies. Many times the first language we'll hear from a GLP is a song or what sounds like the melody of a song even if we can't make out all the words. Music therapy is a great extracurricular activity for GLPs because music, especially when performed and taught by a trained musician, supports language development. We recommend connecting your speech therapist and music therapist so they can collaborate to incorporate work from speech sessions in music therapy sessions. Our friends at NeuroMotif are music therapists who provide neuro- affirming approaches to music therapy and are committed to best supporting their GLP clients.

ABA Providers: There is a strong correlation between Autism and Gestalt Language Development. Not all children who are Autistic are Gestalt Language Processors and not all Gestalt Language Processors are Autistic, however it is common. In the process of receiving an autism diagnoses, families are often given a list of recommended services for their child, ABA oftentimes being one of them. The training and approaches of ABA providers do not align with best practices for Gestalt Language Processors, as the strategies used in ABA related to language are based on Analytic Language Development. If you choose to have ABA services for your GLP, we highly recommend they collaborate with your child's GLP-trained speech therapist who can share best practices for their language development. 

Coaches and Leaders of Extracurricular Activities: Let other adults in your child or client's life know they are a GLP so they have an understanding of the way they communicate. As mentioned above, many people are not familiar with gestalt language development and your advocacy can provide them with an understanding and ability to effectively interact with them in activities. This can also help your client/child feel more welcome and understood in the activities they take part in.

Please reach out to us if you know have questions about Gestalt Language Processors you may know! We're passionate about educating others on GLD so more GLPs are understood and best supported.