As professionals dedicated to nurturing communication skills in children with special needs, understanding the difference between analytic language processing and gestalt language processing is crucial. When gestalt language processors are treated with the wrong approach, their language can become stuck and inflexible. However, when they are supported to move through the stages of natural language acquisition, they develop original, flexible language. In this blog, we’ll delve into understanding the difference between analytic and gestalt language development, as well as how to identify and then how to support a gestalt language processor.
Two types of language development
Most of us learnt about language development as a progression from smaller to larger building blocks, i.e. a child learns to say single words (e.g. “doggy”), then starts combining two words (e.g. “big doggy”) then uses simple phrases (e.g. “big doggy gone”), then develops sentences (e.g. “Where is my doggy?”) and increases the complexity of the sentence structure and grammatical markers (e.g. “If you see my dog around, please let me know). This is analytic language development, and many children learn language this way. However, there are a large number of children who learn language differently and are known as gestalt language processors. They start with phrases, complete sentences or single words that hold larger meaning for them and are usually said with a distinct intonation. From there they learn to break these whole gestalts down into smaller units and they learn to mix and match chunks of language from the original gestalt. The next stage involves identifying words as units of language and the child starts to combine two words together. In stage 4, gestalt language processors generate novel utterances with beginning grammar and in the final stages, the child learns to use complex and more advanced grammar.
Read here to understand more about the stages of natural language acquisition for gestalt language processors.
Echolalia: A Key Component
A hallmark of gestalt language processing is echolalia, the repetition of language. While everyone uses some echolalia, it is the essential part of language development for gestalt language processors. There are two types of echolalia – immediate and delayed. Immediate echolalia involves the immediate or near-immediate repetition of language, while delayed echolalia occurs after a significant delay. Both forms are integral to the language development of gestalt language processors. However, delayed echolalia, or the use of gestalts/scripts, is the type of language that makes up the first stage of Natural Language Acquisition for gestalt language processors. Children may repeat language that they hear people around them saying e.g. “It’s time to go” or, often, they repeat language from movies, videos and shows e.g. “To infinity and beyond”. Media gestalts often stick because they are exciting and intonation rich and every time a child rewatches the show, the language sounds exactly the same. Our everyday talking by contrast often changes slightly in intonation, speed & volume even if the words are the same. Children can rewind, replay and slow down the media language models enabling them to commit them, and the event, to memory. Real-life usually goes by too fast and this is why we often hear these media gestalts. The issue with media gestalts, however, are that they are often long, not easily mitigatable and not pertinent to the child’s everyday life.
More than just Words
Gestalts are intonationally defined strings of language that are tied to a meaningful experience. Children pick up language that often holds a much larger meaning and typically a whole experience with it. For example, a child may pick up the gestalt “I can fly” which was said by a Paw Patrol character in a much-loved show. When the child repeats the gestalt, it is associated with the excitement that the character was feeling at the time. Consequently, the child uses this gestalt to indicate excitement and glee, even though that moment may have nothing to do with flying. This is why a gestalt may appear out of context to us. As adults, we focus on the meaning of the individual words, whereas the gestalt language processor focuses on the emotion or experience that they are wanting to convey. Another example is a child who picked up the gestalt around a character being upset because he had hurt himself and she said “Spot hurt his knee” every time she fell or got hurt.
Identifying Gestalt Language Processors
It’s essential that we identify which children are gestalt language processors to provide effective intervention and support. Some signs include:
- Reliance on scripted language, often using scripts from media.
- Single words that are stuck and don’t progress into word combinations.
- Difficulty with traditional therapy approaches focused on vocabulary expansion.
- Inflexible language use, limited to specific contexts.
- Strings of unintelligible speech.
- Rich intonation.
Read here to find out more about how to identify a gestalt language processor.
Supporting Gestalt Language Processors
Once you have identified that a child most likely is a gestalt language processor, you need to provide the right support to help them progress through the natural language acquisition framework. It’s highly recommended that you do further training to understand how to do this intervention but here are some basic principles that you will need to apply:
- Start with developing a connection with the child as this is foundational to intervention with gestalt language processors.
- Acknowledge and validate scripted language as a form of communication.
- Engage in detective work to decipher the meaning behind scripts.
- Recognise that gestalts should not always be taken literally and seek to understand their underlying emotional significance.
- Follow the child’s lead so the sessions, and language models, are intrinsically motivating and meaningful for the child.
- Model language based on the child’s interests and experiences.
- Avoid excessive questioning and instead focus on commenting and narrating.
Embracing the Beauty of Echolalia
It’s crucial to recognise that echolalia or scripting is a natural and valuable aspect of gestalt language development. Rather than viewing it as a challenge to overcome, we should celebrate its role in fostering communication and connection. These children are trying to communicate, we need to get better at listening and understanding.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have been taught that there is one way that children develop language. However, understanding gestalt language processing as a normal and natural way that many children learn language enables us to support these children to thrive in their communication journey.
