About Late Talkers

• Child is not meeting typical language milestones

• More common in males than females

• Late to toilet-train

• Strong-willed personality

• More likely analytic than verbal learners

  • may learn best from hands-on activities

  • may eventually learn better by reading than listening

  • when interested in a problem, child may pursue to completion and quickly lose interest once problem is solved

• Have family members who were also late to talk

• Have family members who are analytic learners or hold analytic job positions

About Gestalt Language Processing

Is your child producing long strands of unintelligible words, humming or mumbling, or repeating language he has heard from others? Does it seem like your child isn’t using his own original language, but repeating entire verses from songs, shows, or other language he has heard? Does your child’s language seem out of context? Your child may be a gestalt language processor (GLP).

Understanding Gestalt Language Processing & Analytic Language Processing

Gestalt Language Processing (GLP) is a strategy to learn language. GLPs learns language by memorizing long scripts of language, called “gestalts”. These memorized scripts are often learned from TV shows, Youtube, and spoken language heard around them.

Analytic Language Processing is more common, and what most of us think of when we think about a child’s language development. In Analytic Language Processing, a child begins saying single words (e.g. mama), then by 2 putting together two words (e.g. mama cookie), then by 3 putting together three words (mama want cookie), then eventually speaking in sentences (e.g. mama I want a cookie).

BUT a GLP is learning language in a unique way! The child is drawn to the intonation of language and is very skilled at repeating (almost in perfect pitch!!) the language he or she hears. For example: the child may repeat the sentence “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?” before using and understanding the words embedded in the sentence like “bear” “what” “you” and “see”. A GLP does not know how to put together his own sentences - YET!

Luckily there is an evidence-based way to help GLPs producing their own original language AND it adds no pressure to your child - just FUN and REWARDING time spent together.

About Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by persistent differences in the areas of social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication, and developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships. Please see the CDC website for more specific information regarding autism.

Signs of Autism in young children

• Reduction in words previously produced

• Restricted and repetitive bodily movements, such as flapping, fidgeting arms, and legs or stimming with objects

• Delayed play and language milestones

• Not responding when calling his/her name

• Fixation on objects