Introduction
For a time people thought that children with autism were either completely non-verbal or had to learn to speak by building words from individual sounds. The usual way of doing speech therapy was to focus on this step-by-step approach, where a child would first learn to mimic vowel and consonant sounds before putting them together into words.
However modern speech therapy has shown us an powerful way that many autistic children naturally learn to communicate, which is called Gestalt Language Processing. Of learning language word by word these children learn language in whole phrases or chunks.
Understanding Gestalt Language Processing
What is a Gestalt
A Gestalt is a phrase, a song or a script that a child memorizes and uses as an unit of meaning.While some children start with words and build up to phrases and sentences children who use Gestalt Language Processing start with a whole phrase.They might start with a phrase then break it down into pieces and finally use those pieces to make new sentences.
Communicative Intent Behind Echolalia
Children who process language this way often repeat phrases, songs or movie dialogues they have heard before. In the past people thought this was meaningless repetition.. Actually these phrases have a lot of meaning behind them.For example a child might repeat the phrase "Do you want a cookie?" not because they are asking a question. Because they associate those words with feeling hungry or with a specific time of day.
Supporting Gestalt Language Processing
he key to helping children who use Gestalt Language Processing is to understand what their phrases mean. Of making them practice basic sounds or individual words therapists work with the phrases the child is already using.
By understanding the situational context of a childs Gestalts therapists can help them break down their memorized chunks into smaller pieces then recombine those pieces into original sentences.
This way children can transition into independent communication.
Conclusion
Gestalt Language Processing is an valid way of communicating. If we recognize that repeating phrases and scripts is a way of communicating, rather than a barrier to it we can help autistic children exactly where they are.By understanding what they mean and supporting their way of processing language we can help them develop their language skills much faster and share their voice with the world.
Gestalt Language Processing is a tool for autistic children and it can make a big difference, in their lives.We should. Encourage Gestalt Language Processing because it is a natural and effective way for many autistic children to communicate.
Gestalt Language Processing is a part of who they are and it deserves our recognition and support.