Embracing the Beautiful Language of Echolalia / Gestalt Language Processing
People often use the term “echolalia” to describe a child’s pattern of repetitive language but many people are not aware that when a child consistently uses echolalia, they are communicating so much more than just repetitive phrases or words.
Echolalia, now more commonly referred to as gestalt language processing, is a communication processing style whereby the child echoes or repeats back words and phrases they have heard from adults, other children, T.V. shows, or songs. We now know from decades of research that this is a legitimate and specific process of language development for some children.
To understand gestalt language processing better, it's crucial to consider how children with certain neurodevelopmental differences may process language differently. For gestalt language processors, language development begins with chunks of language (a.k.a. gestalts) instead of single words. Children pick up on the entire phrases before they pick up on single, individual word units. A child may hear an entire phrase, process it as one unit, give it meaning, and then continue to use that phrase to convey that intended meaning.
For example, a gestalt language processor may hear “Let’s go down the slide!” at the playground and associate it with a phrase for initiating play with others. They may use this phrase at home or at school, “Let’s go down the slide!” to indicate that they want to play with a friend or an adult, even if they are indoors. The child is conveying an intended meaning (I want to play with you) through a phrase or gestalt that they have heard (Let’s go down the slide).
It is important to note that the child might not yet be at the stage where they can use each individual word in the phrase (Lets/go/down/the/slide) but rather they are using and processing the phrase as one communication unit.
It is also important to note that it is not always immediately clear what the underlying meaning of the phrase or gestalt is. For example, a gestalt language processor may say, “Chase is on the case” which is a phrase from the show Paw Patrol. After some observation, the adult may begin to realize that the child is using this phrase to ask for an adult’s help or assistance once the adult has picked up on how the dog Chase is helping someone in need when he says, “Chase is on the case.”
In all cases, these gestalts or phrases are intentional communication. It is our job as adults to figure out the communication message behind the gestalts.
Another element of gestalt language processing is immediately repeating a phrase back that a child hears (sometimes referred to as “immediate echolalia”), which is a way for the child to process the language that they hear.
Gestalt language processors often have rich intonation or emphasize the up and down “sing-song” patterns of speech when expressing their gestalts or phrases.
Marge Blanc (2012) outlines 4 stages of gestalt language processing. She explains how gestalt language processors move through 4 stages and eventually break down gestalts into individual words that they can use to build up phrases as well as complex grammar to communicate. For some gestalt language processors, this takes time and support from adults using specific strategies in language contexts that are familiar and meaningful for the child.
Gestalt language processing is a beautiful and meaningful form of communication that we as adults need to acknowledge. Developing and supporting a child’s language is always fun and exciting and we as the adult have so much influence over a child’s language development. It’s crucial that we provide a language-rich environment and use language strategies and models that are at the child’s level and help them to develop increasingly complex and varied language to express their wants, needs, and ideas.
Laura is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist based in New York City. She sees babies, toddlers, and children in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
References:
Blanc, M. (2012). Natural language acquisition on the autism spectrum: The journey from echolalia to self-generated language. Communication Development Center.
Prizant, B. M., & Rydell, P. J. (1984). Analysis of functions of delayed echolalia in autistic children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 27(2), 183–192. https://doi.org/10.1044/jshr.2702.183
