Why Having A GLP-Trained Speech Therapist Is Essential

Children’s brains develop language in one of two ways: analytic (bottom-up) or gestalt (top-down). One way is not any better than the other, although many consider analytic language development to be “neurotypical”. It’s not something a child chooses - it’s simply based on how that child’s brain is wired.

However, speech therapists are not taught about gestalt language processing during their undergrad and graduate schooling. Instead, they were taught to provide language instruction using only an analytic language approach - providing language models starting with single words and building words like blocks to communicate in phrases then sentences. We are taught that echolalia is intentional, but it is not presented as the foundational component to natural language acquisition. 

The problem is that it disregards a whole other group of children - the gestalt language processors. And, while not all GLPs are autistic, most autistic and neurodivergent children ARE gestalt language processors. 

As a speech therapist that was trained in only analytic processing, I was taught to only communicate to autistic learners using one-two words because that was all their brain could process. Autistic children were labeled as “lifers” because they would be in speech therapy for life. These children would participate in decades of speech therapy using a compliance-based analytic language approach, making miniscule amounts of progress each year, and we were happy with the very small amount of progress we made because we were taught that was all autistic children were capable of. 

But, everything we were taught about autistic children and the way they develop language is a LIE!! If I’m not the first person to tell you this, I’m overjoyed. If you take one thing away from this post, I hope it is that autistic minds and gestalt language processors are BRILLIANT. They are so smart and capable, and, in fact, their brains THRIVE on processing large chunks of language at once. Since specializing in GLP, I have made progress with children in 12-18 months that would have taken them 5-10 years in traditional, analytic speech therapy!

Now, based on my training and experience treating GLPs, I can confidently say that speech therapists who are not trained in GLP have no business giving therapy to your gestalt language processing child! GLP is drastically different from analytic language development, which means the therapeutic techniques used for both types of language learning should be drastically different as well. 

Understanding gestalt processing is like learning a new language. So, a traditional speech-language therapist, who has no GLP training, is not the appropriate person to help your child communicate when they can’t even  understand the language your child is using. Only a GLP-trained speech therapist can help your child - progressing from the first GLP stage of echolalia to the final stage of spontaneous, self-generated speech. 

Children across the globe are finally making incredible progress in significantly shorter periods of time because they were first correctly identified as a GLP and then participated in speech therapy with a GLP trained SLP. And you want the speech therapist working with your child to KNOW how your child processes language and the world around them! 

To learn more about gestalt language processing, and see if your child might process language this way, check out our GLP resource page. And, if you’re looking for a GLP-trained SLP in your area, check out the registry: https://www.meaningfulspeechregistry.com/.