Have you ever heard a child repeat a sentence or two from a cartoon they’d watched? Or perhaps say a phrase the exact same way each time?
Our Speech Language Therapist Mindy explains that gestalt language processors are children who typically use scripts and learnt phrases to communicate. Utterances ‘stick’ because they are associated with emotional experiences. The same utterance is then used to express similar feelings they felt when they learnt it. The literal meaning of the words sometimes have little to do with what they are trying to express. As their language develops, they eventually learn to break these scripts and phrases down to create original phrases and sentences. Embracing and understanding a child’s language learning style ensures that you are providing the best support for their language development.
If you would like support in this area, please contact our Speech Language Therapy Team.