The Update I have been looking forward to for years!
My mama heart is bursting for my son. If you have been in my circle for a while you know my son is neurodivergent. He is what they call a gestalt language processor, which means he learns to communicate differently than most kids.
He uses learned and repeated phrases to communicate rather than single words. In early stages, this is a simple example for reference:
Most kids learn single words first:
Ball > Car > Red >>> Red ball > Red car
Gestalt Learners learn phrases (gestalts) first:
Red ball > Red car >>> Red > Ball > Car
But even that can be too simplified. It takes a LOT of phrases and time before they will learn to separate single words. And longer to be able to speak freely without memorized phrases.
My son was 2.5 when we learned about this. When his speech and language pathologist (SLP) told us that she thought he was a gestalt language processor and what that meant, everything clicked. And we were able to start understanding him much better very quickly. We also had tools and understanding to help him learn to communicate in a way that made sense for him.
As we were able to understand him more and more you could see his face light up. Something I'll never forget - pure joy that every child deserves.
Philip is now 4.5 years old so we have been intentionally working with his communication skills for 2 years. I wanted to share some of the notes from his preschool teachers about his recent progress.
November 2023:
“On the most recent informal 10 minute language sample, Philip independently and spontaneously used 6 utterances combined with gibberish.”
March 2024:
“According to the most recent language sample (composed of 54 utterances) Philip is demonstrating an increase in self-generated grammar and spontaneous language and appears to be moving away from dependance on delayed echolalia or gestalts... He appears to be moving into the later stages of gestalt language processing where he is now putting word units together to make his own novel phrases and sentences and we can begin working on grammar development.”
I was not expecting this could be our reality in such a "short" amount of time. Of course, I see his improvement at home, but it’s also so good to hear that others see/hear it too.
As his mom I have always understood him better than anyone. In the beginning stages I used to have to translate for everyone, including family he saw often. I knew his phrases because I was around him all the time to understand where they came from and the emotion and multiple meanings behind what he was saying. (ie: “fish in there” was a phrase he used for bath time, when he wanted a drink of water, any time he saw a liquid, or if he wanted to look inside something like a cupboard - he knew there was something 'in there' even if it had nothing to do with fish or water.)
If someone would have told me in the beginning that we would get that message in only 2 years, I wouldn’t have believed it. Everything I read showed that progress would be much slower.
I believe that there were/are factors at play that affect his body more than other kids. One of the things I learned early on is that heavy metal toxicity can effect the brain tissues that are responsible for communication. So many common things contain heavy metals, including tap water, food dyes, and many non organic foods because of chemical sprays.
When we started various modalities to detox heavy metals, we saw quick progress. Within a couple weeks, close family made comments that they were able to understand him better and his gestalts increased. Within several months, friends both in person and through instagram were able to hear differences. And now 2 years later the SLPs in his preschool are saying he is moving into later stages and can start working on grammar! What?!
I don’t believe any of this is a coincidence and I am eager to share more so that other moms and their kids can have the tools and support. My friend Courtney Alker and I are working on creating a community for moms of neurodivergent kids with resources on detoxing, tips learned from SLPs and other practitioners, tools to support dysregulated kids, tools for you mamas, and more.
We are in the process of creating, so if you'd like to learn more and join us, please fill out the form here.
I will be sharing more of our story and look forward to learning about your story. When moms link arms to support their kids, the world opens. I can't wait for you to join us.
Comments