Echolalia - Your child is trying to tell you something!
So your child is repeating sentences/phrases/lyrics verbatim, frequently from their favorite tv shows, movies, youtube videos, etc. This is known as “echolalia” or “scripting,” it’s a characteristic of Gestalt Language Processing (GLP). The language is echoed from a prior experience, in the exact manner that they first heard it. They tend to pick up language that catches their interest due to the rich intonation (the rising and falling of the voice). This is why individuals tend to be drawn towards music, where there are frequent variations in pitch. If this sounds familiar, it may be a sign that your child is a Gestalt Language Processor.
There are two ways to process language (neither is better than the other).
When we think of learning a language, we “typically” acquire one word at a time, to then eventually add those words together to make a sentence. This “traditional” way is known as Analytic Language Processing (ALP). As compared to Gestalt Language Processors, who learn language in chunks, rather than one word at a time. In the past, individuals who used echolalia were treated as disordered ALP, when in fact, they just needed to be taught language in a different way. If a GLP is treated as a disordered ALP, they will likely develop a language delay, not due to their processing, but because they were not taught language in the way their brain was wired to learn.
Different language processing = Different way of teaching language.
Echolalia is a valid and meaningful way to communicate, it should be acknowledged and respected.
In prior years, providers treated echolalic speech as if it had no meaning, however it is quite the opposite. Gestalts are used for a variety of communicative functions, such as making requests, comments, clarifying, asking questions, etc. However, gestalts are not always direct, they may serve a function that isn’t obvious. We need to become detectives in order to figure out the true intention of the gestalt. For example, a child may say, “To infinity and beyond,” but they might be trying to communicate, “Let’s play!” Gestalts are often picked up during moments that feel memorable to the individual. They create a connection between the words they heard and their feelings during that first moment they heard the words. Investigating the function of the gestalt will help to support the individual’s true needs. Eventually, they will learn to “break apart” and swap words from their long gestalts to create self-generated language during the later stages of their language development. While some children do this independently, other children may require the help of an SLP to move through the stages.
The 6 stages of Natural Language Acquisition Framework for Gestalt Language Processing
Language gestalts (wholes, scripts, songs, episodes)
Mitigations (mitigated gestalts, partial scripts): Mix and match combinations of partial scripts
Isolated single words: Two-word combinations of referential single words
Original phrases and beginning sentences
Original sentences with more complex grammar
Original sentences with a complete grammar system
You might be asking, “Why haven't I heard of this before?”
Research by Marge Blanc, Barry Prizant, and others, has been around for 10+ years, however many speech-language pathology graduate programs have been slow to educate SLP students about the two types of language processing. Gestalt Language Processing has become a type of “buzz word” in the field recently, developing steam from SLPs on instagram, like Alexandria Zachos, who worked directly with Marge Blanc, the creator of the Natural Language Acquisition Framework. Evidence-based GLP posts, with videos directly from therapy sessions, have helped to educate SLPs and clear up the fact that echolalia is meaningful.
If you’d like to work with an SLP to help your child go from echolalia to self-generated language, please reach out to make an appointment with North Star!
To continue learning about GLP, here are some great websites and accounts to browse!
https://communicationdevelopmentcenter.com
https://www.meaningfulspeech.com/blog/Stages-of-GLP
Instagram:
@meaningfulspeech
@bohospeechie
Resources
Finding the Words… To Tell the “Whole” Story. (2022, June 26). Communication Development Center. https://communicationdevelopmentcenter.com/finding-the-words-to-tell-the-whole-story/
The Natural Language Acquisition Guide. (2022, July 5). Communication Development Center. https://communicationdevelopmentcenter.com/the-natural-language-acquisition-guide-echolalia-is-all-about-gestalt-language-development/
