How to Play With a Gestalt Language Processor
How to play with a Gestalt language processor
First, let's talk about what is Gestalt language processing. Gestalt language processing is a way of learning language. Sometimes children learn language through individual words, like an analytic language processor. A gestalt language processor learns through chunks or scripts. So instead of working on single words in building up their language, a gestalt language processor will use scripts that they have heard previously.
There are multiple stages for just a gestalt language processor.
Stage 1 is when they use whole scripts. They might have heard these scripts from television or are demonstrating echolalia. These chunks can also come from songs, movies, books, or conversations that they've heard.
Stage 2 is when a child starts mixing and modifying those chunks so they'll take parts of a chunk and change them or add to them.
Stage 3 is when they break down those scripts into smaller parts so instead of saying “Let's go Peppa” they'll say “let's go + to the store.”
Stage 4 is when they develop that flexible self-generated language.
How do we support a gestalt language processor?
It's important to acknowledge and validate their scripts. We don't want to discourage echolalia. We also want to model short rhythmic phrases. We want to vary our intonation when we speak. This can help them adopt those phrases that were modeling. It also helps if we attach meaning to those scripts when we're playing naturally.
Here is a video of gestalts to model while playing with an egg carton toy. This egg toy is a favorite of mine because it teaches basic concepts like colors and shapes. It’s a favorite amongst children from 3-8 years of age. They’re easy to grasp and stick together. They help with hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and recognition skills.
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