When working with children who are gestalt language processors, it’s essential to approach language acquisition from a different perspective. Unlike analytic language processors who build language from words to sentences, gestalt language processors learn language in chunks, or “gestalts,” before breaking them down into smaller parts. Let’s dive into the six stages of natural language acquisition specific to gestalt language processors and explore how we can support these learners at each stage.
What is natural language acquisition (NLA)?
Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) is a framework first outlined in Marge Blanc’s book Natural Language Acquisition on the Autism Spectrum: The Journey from Echolalia to Self-Generated Language (2012). It is a detailed description of gestalt language development that was based on the pioneering research of Ann Peters, Barry Prizant, and their colleagues’ decades of clinical research with neurotypical children and autistic children. NLA embraces the child’s own level of natural language development and supports further development toward self-generated grammar (Blanc, 2012)
Stage 1: Echolalia
In the first stage, children who are gestalt language processors often communicate using echolalia—repeating phrases or chunks of language they’ve heard, sometimes from caregivers but often from media like TV shows or songs. These utterances are usually used without an understanding of the individual words within the phrase. For example, “Do you want to build a snowman? Come on, let’s go and play”.
Our Role: During this stage, it’s important to observe and note the specific gestalts the child uses. Echolalia communicates so we acknowledge the gestalt, even if we’re unsure of the meaning. You can do this by smiling, nodding your head, saying ‘yeah’ or ‘ok’ or by repeating the phrase back to them. It’s also important to do some ‘detective work’ to find out where the gestalt came from and what the child may be trying to communicate. In stage 1 your goal is to model more gestalts in child-led activities, focusing on gestalts that are easy to mitigate and are used for a variety of communicative functions.
Stage 2: Mitigation
As children progress, they begin to modify their echolalic phrases and break them down into smaller chunks. They can mix and match chunks of gestalts into new utterances and they may shorten longer gestalts. For example, “Come on, let’s go outside” or reducing the original gestalt to: “build a snowman”.
Our Role: We can support this stage by modelling modified versions of their phrases that match the context of their communication. For example, if a child frequently says, “Come on, let’s go and play” when entering a room, you might respond with, “Come on, let’s find the crayons” This helps them see how their phrases can adapt to different situations.
Stage 3: Single Words and Two-word Combinations
At this stage, children begin to ‘free’ single words from their gestalts. They identify words as single units of meaning and use words referentially. This is the stage when children start pointing to objects around them when labelling them. They also start to combine words together. For example ‘snowman’, ‘cold snowman’, ‘snowman, hat’
Our Role: Encouraging the use of these single words and two-word combinations in a variety of situations is key. This is the stage where you can point and label nouns around you and model different ways of combining these nouns with other words.
Stage 4: Beginning Sentences
In the fourth stage, children start to create original sentences by combining individual word units to make their own novel phrases or sentences. The child is beginning to play with grammar and a hallmark feature of this stage is incomplete grammar. For example, “I build snowman”.
Our Role: To support the child at this stage, be a good conversational partner and keep the conversation going. Model beginning grammar but don’t ask the child to correct their grammar. It’s important to model a variety of early grammar concepts.
Stage 5 – Original Sentences
As they continue to develop, children begin to combine their original sentences to form more complex ideas. This stage involves the use of conjunctions and more advanced grammar, reflecting a deeper understanding of how language works. For example, “We can build a snowman because it snowed last night”.
Our Role: Supporting this stage involves modelling more advanced grammar in natural conversation and ensuring it sounds authentic and meaningful. Don’t slip into teaching grammatical structures (e.g. using sentence strips) as GLPs acquire language best through modelling, meaning, emotional content, and context.
Stage 6 – Advanced Grammar
In the final stage, children reach a level of advanced language use, where they can generate sentences with a full grammar system characterised by multiple embedded clauses. For example “I think the snowman we build last night is the best one ever!”
Our Role: At this stage, our focus shifts to fine-tuning language skills and addressing any specific challenges the child might face. This could include working on narrative skills, pragmatic language, or refining grammar.
Final Thoughts
Understanding the stages of natural language acquisition for gestalt language processors allows us to meet these children where they are and support them in a way that aligns with their language processing style. It’s also important to understand that children don’t move completely out of the earlier stages when they are in the later stages. Rather they continue to use whole gestalts or mitigated gestalts even after they are generating their own sentences.
If you’d like to learn more about supporting a gestalt language processor through the natural language acquisition framework, have a look at these trainings: https://communicationdevelopmentcenter.com/professional-development/ and https://www.meaningfulspeech.com/course. As speech pathologists, our role is to guide these children through their language journey, providing the tools and support they need to thrive.
