Over the past few months, I’ve come to understand that my son, Otto, is navigating some developmental challenges. While this isn’t a bad thing, it is a new journey for us, one that requires more of my care and attention. Otto is a Gestalt Language Processor (GLP), which means he has a unique way of learning language. As I’ve educated myself about his needs, I’ve realized that our current Ocean State Kids (OSK) environment is not the right fit for him at this time. The routine has become a source of stress and dysregulation for him, and my priority is to support his confidence and growth.
With these realizations, I have made the difficult decision to step down from leadership of the Little Tweets & Sweetest Berries groups and to withdraw the Little Tweet program from Norman Bird Sanctuary. While this decision brings me sadness—because this group has been my cherished space for friendship and community—I believe it’s the best path forward for Otto and our family.
I am hopeful that I may return to leadership in the Spring or Summer of 2025 if Otto grows more confident in his language and surroundings. Until then, I am deeply grateful for all the connections and support this group has given our family.
So what happens next?
Sweetest Berries: There are five more weeks of the group remaining. Kassia & Alice will continue to lead this group (depending on Kassia’s pregnancy and energy of course).
Little Tweets: Any family that enrolled in Little Tweets, we will be refunding your enrollment membership. In 2025, I will revisit leadership and a new Spring/Summer program that will include lots of movement, sensory activities, play, and action packed activities.
Maintaining The Community: I am going to continue to keep the OSK Group Chat active, that way as a community you can organize play groups and meet ups whenever you wish. Many of you have already built friendships and have each other's numbers, so I would love to see this group stay together.
If you are curious about Gestalt Language Processors, I have included an overview below. If you feel like your child has these qualities, or know anyone dealing with a similar journey please reach out (or have them reach out) to me directly, as I will be looking to create as much support as possible.
Kind Regards,
Marial Leisge
What is a Gestalt Language Processor?
Traditional speech therapy approaches, as well as other treatment programs, have historically approached language development of all children through an analytic language processing lens. Our gestalt language processors struggle to make progress toward self-generated language and grammar use because of this. Gestalt language processors' language development does not need to be "fixed," it needs to be supported naturally.
What is a Gestalt? Gestalts are the repetition of words or phrases heard that are used verbatim after some time has passed. A gestalt may be used after the child has heard it from its original source hours, days, weeks, or even years later. It is a "chunk" of language stored in a child's memory for later use.
GLP’s require child-led play for language development: Child-led play is following a child's interests and allowing them to lead. Instead of having your own play agenda, you enter the child’s world of play. OSK has been my agenda for Otto, which he continues to reject. You may have noticed his desire to leave the group, or wait in the car until it’s over.
GLP’s also have episodic memory (hyper aware) of their surroundings and need routine that they enjoy. Otto is very aware every morning when I am packing up my car, and is immediately stressed and disregulated. I need to remove this from our weekly routine and reset our routine.
GLP’s do best in environments where other children or parents are aware of his language needs. That environment requires less questions, and more narration and declarative conversations. If he doesn’t find these opportunities, he becomes very stressed and disregulated.
GLP’s require highly stimulating environments & movement to self regulate and thrive in language development. When we allow for movement and assist with regulation throughout the day, we are supporting the child's ability to process gestalts in their environment, store language and isolate words to begin grammar.
Lastly, and more surprisingly, GLP’s need more silence: Why is Silence SO Important? It provides time to process language modeled for the child. It decreases auditory input which can lead to better regulation for some children. It allows time for the child to generate thoughts and ideas to share, and it provides time for initiation of communication and sharing of THEIR thoughts.
If you want to learn even more about this, visit Meaning Speech
