#gestalt language processing

[whatsupwalnut]

Today at recess my student was under the bigtoy and kept saying something like "undersea game" and finally i heard "it's leaking" and sure enough something was dripping down and that's how we figured out another student had overflowed their diaper which is functional gestalt language processing in action thank you!!!

[limestoner]

I think I see what people meant when they called me a “little parrot” when I was a kid. It was a comment I only remember because I heard it so often. I think I understood the metaphor generally and understood it to mean that I repeated things all the time.

But no, they meant I literally convert sound I hear into an echo from my mouth. I would stim just like this parrot.

This scene is really relatable. I know I’m supposed to make small talk. So I follow that script. But before I knew how to do that, this is what I naturally would do. I wouldn’t say, “Do you like this station? It’s my favorite!”

I would say, “97X. BaaaaaM. The Future of Rock and Roll.”

It’s easier for me to retell a story by just outputting my recording, but that’s not how people expect a story. It doesn’t come naturally to me to think of social questions to show that I am enjoying spending time with someone. It comes naturally to express feelings of excitement, tranquility, joy by telling a story through pure sound.

My audio track doesn’t have separate channels for music, speech, and noise.

I remember watching a documentary about parrots when I was a kid. My favorite part was the way parrots learned language.

Probably because I finally saw someone who communicated like I do.

[whatsupwalnut]

yes! it's a sign of gestalt language processing, which often uses delayed echolalia as an accessible means of communication

and you can’t blame me for saying some odd shit bc i haven’t become accustomed to mimicking your speech patterns yet. that’s not my problem

[honeydrop-sweetheart]

Sometimes, my brain comes up with a certified banger or a truly creative fantasy. Sometimes, it's: ✨ "Yeet of this can, for this bitch empty." ✨

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Psychology

more psychological concepts as reference for your poem/story

Telepathic dream - a dream in which one appears to gain insight or information about a person or event despite not having access to the relevant information in waking life; described by Sigmund Freud.

Thought echoing - (or écho des pensées) an auditory hallucination in which an individual hears their own thoughts repeated in spoken form.

Trait rumination - a tendency to focus attention on negative thoughts and emotions, which is associated with longer and more severe episodes of depression or anxiety.

Twilight state - a state of clouded consciousness in which the individual is temporarily unaware of their surroundings, experiences fleeting auditory or visual hallucinations, and responds to them by performing irrational acts, such as undressing in public, running away, or committing violence. The disturbance occurs primarily in temporal lobe epilepsy, dissociative reactions, and alcohol intoxication. On regaining normal consciousness, individuals usually report that they felt they were dreaming and have little or no recollection of their actual behavior.

Universality of emotions - the finding that certain emotional expressions, appraisals, and manifestations are the same or highly similar across cultures and societies.

Waking dream - an episode of dreamlike visual imagery experienced when one is not asleep. The term is sometimes applied to hallucinations, religious visions, and the like.

Windmill illusion - an illusion of motion of rotating objects, such as windmills and automobile wheels, which appear to reverse direction intermittently.

Xenoglossy - in parapsychology, the ostensible ability of a person to speak or write in a language that is entirely unknown to them.

Yantra - a visual pattern on which attention is focused during concentrative meditation.

Zeigarnik effect - the tendency for interrupted, uncompleted tasks to be better remembered than completed tasks. Some theorists relate this phenomenon to certain gestalt principles of organization but at the level of higher mental processing (e.g., memory), rather than at the level of pure perception; described in 1927 by Bluma Zeigarnik.

Source ⚜ More: References ⚜ Part 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[tidyturnip]

Oh, you're a super-processor for language! Most people can only handle one language stream at a time, regardless of sensory modality, but some people have such elegant and efficient language processing that they can juggle multiple language tasks. Yes, it's juggling - while it may feel simultaneous, your brain is just very cleverly alt-tabbing between the two but somehow providing the effect of consistent stream of consciousness for both at once.

Can you talk to someone while typing or writing something completely unrelated? Can you listen to two busy radio channels at once (like, one in each ear)? Did you know you would make a very good dispatcher or air traffic controller, if you're considering a career switch?

Sorry, I find it a really fascinating phenomenon because my auditory processing is so garbage I can baaaaarely handle one language stream. My ears in particular (actually the brain structures in involved in auditory processing) are so awful at it that if you present me with written words, my brain immediately stops even trying to interpret intelligible language from the sounds and it's like the tower of babel. I have to be careful with my language resources in "high-competing conditions" (aka, lots of background noise, distracting visual language cues, etc) or else I will just forget that I can't hear people. Since I've always been this way, I do that grew-up-deafish "mmhm! yeah!" thing and absorb 0% of the information. The best I can do is now be aware of it and ask for things to be repeated while I focus as hard as I can.

okay, settle an argument for me. I'm being told it's weird to listen to an audiobook while simultaneously reading a different book. Do you do this? Like, audiobook in your headphones, unrelated book being read at the same time, not just alternating which you're working on by listening to a chapter, then reading a different chapter.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

on tumblr lot more people know about it which great! that improve life of all AAC users. but pretty much with anything disability/developmental disability space on social media (which need certain amount of cognitive/intellectual & language abilities be on even if have support), good majority you see be teen & adult people who already literate learn language via speech n write *first* n then *independently* learn AAC base on it *later*.

especially symbol based AAC, but all AAC, is new system n hard n take long time learn even when you literate & not moderately severely cognitively disabled. but also, “literate teen/adult independent learn AAC” not at all full face of AAC user community.

as in like. experience of theirs. not universal. independently motivated & able to look up different AAC options different AAC apps, compare n contrast. download app n immediately know how to use, or able figure out by self. first time use app n may be clunky n slow, but make sentence on first try. need learn AAC, but most of that learning is for where words are (if button based), how exist as AAC user in public with confidence, etc. those all valid but not true for everyone who need AAC, especially not developmentally disabled children (& some adults) with complex communication needs.

most developmentally disabled children (n some adults) w complex communication needs who need AAC, can’t just hand them tablet with symbol based AAC app or text to speech AAC app n then wait for magic. many of them developmentally delayed in way, not taught in way that fit them (e.g. gestalt language processors), n their language abilities behind peers, so they can’t read, can’t spell, can’t grammar, etc.

some of them need learn where word is not by read word, sometimes not even by understand symbol, instead is by other people press button n hear sound n associate that with meaning n location on AAC n symbol associate with it. in other words, they learning language alongside AAC.

for some their learn process look like, learn how use AAC say one word. n then much later, try make two word message, “want food” “go school.” “two word message” incredibly common goal for many these developmentally disabled children, teens, n even adults, that is something rare n truly extraordinary for that person that need be celebrated.

for others it look like learn by phrase (gestalt), then slowly break it down into smaller phrase n chunks n finally single words.

many of them babble (click random/seemingly random buttons on high tech device, stim with it, etc). but ultimately, won’t be able learn all by self. need be taught, see you accidentally spill water n crying, maybe you “feel” “sad”, n when that happen you “need” “help” from adult. need learn AAC by adults around them constantly model with it, constantly use it in conversation, show them how use. because they learning language along side it.

but also some of them don’t know what this thing in front of them (AAC… device, low tech boards or picture cards, etc) is. don’t know what communication is or you should do that. don’t know people exist who you should communicate to & with. heard many parents n SLP say they try model all time, try all kind of stuff, but child just not seem interested in it, don’t look at it, don’t touch it, don’t use it.

people who use AAC, not all them struggle with only speech. some them struggle with language, with intellectual/cognitive. some of them very developmentally delayed.

n some people, too disabled learn or use AAC. yeah, they exist.

for people who cannot use / cannot only use speech to be understood, AAC can be life changing. but is so much more complex thing. AAC still not as widely used n accepted n properly taught n supported as should, some parents n professionals n schools still many pushback n refuse. but sometimes answer to “have you tried AAC for them” is “yes, but they need long time n lots help to learn n we not very far yet even though spent long time on it” or “yes, but they simply not show interest even after constant model” or “god, wish can, but insurance only cover if show some amount of communication competence n ability use AAC, while only give 1 month trial, which simply not enough time” (wide spread thing that happen) or “yes. many types. it not work.”

for many AAC users & AAC user-to-be, it not as simple as “be handed AAC n check back in while they figure out by self”

[yesthattoo]

I! Will be presenting on neurodiversity-affirming AAC, gestalt language processing, and a a decent chunk of stuff about part-time AAC use/AAC use by speaking autistic folks on September 28, 2025.

This will be for the Northwest Augmentative Communication Society, and it is online.

I am both an Autistic part-time AAC user and an AAC researcher.

It costs $90 for professionals and $45 for anyone else. The promo code of NWACScode2025 gets you 15% off of the applicable price.

Open to anyone interested in AAC and/or communicative scripting/echolalia/gestalt language processing.

[autball]

Part 5 of a 5 part series about the ways harmful practices are being made to sound more appealing and how to spot the differences between helpful and harmful approaches.

Communication support is a desperately needed thing for so many autistic people and their families. So unlike some of the other things I’ve posted about this week, this is 100% a worthy goal. Unfortunately, many places that claim they can offer it are not delivering. 

In some cases, they simply don’t have the education to properly support communication needs (I’m looking at you, ABA). Other times they do have the proper education (ie Speech Language Pathologists) but they will gatekeep certain methods of communication, either because they believe harmful myths about them or they haven’t been trained in that particular method. Also, not every SLP knows about Gestalt Language Processing, so even an otherwise great therapist could be missing some information.

So here are some questions to ask when trying to figure out if someone is truly capable of offering well-rounded, neuro-affirming communication support:

Are they more concerned with making the client easier to deal with for others, or are they focused on the client’s rights, needs, and wishes? (We’re looking for the second one.)

Do they address the client directly, or do they speak as if the client isn’t even in the room? (We’re looking for the first one.)

Do they see speech and language as a behavioral thing? (Verbal Behavior and PECS are dead giveaways - and we want a NO.) 

Do they understand that an inability to produce speech has no bearing on a person’s ability to think and feel? (YES✅)

Do they only push for speech, see speech as the end goal, or value speech above all other methods of communication? (NO✅)

Do they honor things like echolalia, pointing to objects, and bringing an adult over to something they want as valid communication? (YES✅)

Do they honor things like refusal to participate, crying, and meltdowns as valid communication? (YES✅)

Do they believe that things like pacifiers, AAC, or responding to “non-functional communication” discourages speech/“functional” communication? (NO✅)

Do they know about Gestalt Language Processing and believe it is a thing? (YES✅)

Do they require “pre-requisites” before they will try alternative communication methods? (NO✅)

Do they require the client to earn time on their AAC device or remove the device when they deem it a distraction, essentially taking away their voice? (NO✅)

Do they know who to send you to if they aren’t personally trained in an approach they think would be more helpful? (YES✅)

Obviously, trying to find someone local to you with all the green flags and no red ones is kind of like trying to find a unicorn for most people. But if you have a choice between two or more therapists, you can at least go with the one who has more right answers and be ready to advocate/educate when needed. 

If you literally have only one option available to you and it’s not a good one, you can either be ready to advocate at every turn or just choose not to use their services. Yeah, that’s allowed! Not every autistic person needs speech therapy, and not all communication support has to be directly administered by a professional. You as the parent or caregiver will play a huge role in supporting your person with their communication needs, and luckily there are online resources and virtual trainings that can help you do that.

P.S. What’s the difference between PECS and picture cards, you ask? PECS is a whole ABA-based program that uses a limited set of picture cards and should be avoided for several reasons. Meanwhile, plain old picture cards are something that can be made and used by anyone without any specific program.

P.P.S. Zero debates about the legitimacy of Spelling to Communicate (S2C) or Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) will be entertained (translation - it will be deleted so don’t waste your time).

[whatsupwalnut]

It rules that no one has seen happy endings bc its the source of easily 50% of my verbal gestalts

[limestoner]

Thinking about why I have trouble distinguishing between different people’s voices on the phone, pick out a single person’s voice in a busy room, and have trouble remembering who told me what.

From infancy, my brain has a “file” on every word I have ever heard. Some files are fat: “the”, “me”, “and”. Some files are thin: got sidetracked trying to find the spelling of a word I remember hearing in a spelling bee. It sounded like /kaɲkılieɾəd/.

And that’s an example of how I seem to store every production of a word I ever hear. The way the sounds fit together. The way it can grammatically fit together with other words. Each word has “receptors” that only work with specified other words around them.

I remember feeling drawn to the crisp sounds in German: “sch,” “ß”, “w” as /v/. I still feel so comfortable — no, happy forming them.

When I talk to someone, my brain seems to:

1. Record a whole conversational turn.

2. Break down into sentences.

3. Break down into words.

4. Break down into sounds.

5. Add information acquired from new productions to the language files. Like the X Files but probably not at all really. I did it again. I can’t hear the meaning over the words.

6. Now I have new data points to add to rules about pronunciation, spelling, meanings, and grammatical construction.

7. This all happens instantly and without me thinking about it. What I do have to think about is making sure that I am mirroring the other person’s communication, and a good way to do that is by using the words they use and furthering the conversation by adding more.

8. But my brain does not seem to keep track of where the line is for “on topic” or “off topic.” I’m building with the same words but there is some other meaning that I can’t seem to access.

9. Meanwhile, I’m struggling to see what someone’s facial expression is telling me. I find facial expressions to be hard to distinguish, but when I make a social error and some has a strong reaction, it scares me. It’s like I can’t see faces unless it’s bad. It can take several seconds or more of “staring” at someone to tell if I recognize them or not and who they might be. I feel bad for not knowing who they are, so I’m hesitant to ask.

10. I like it when people who aren’t in my small inner circle remind me who they are when they approach. It helps my brain “set up” for the conversation.

11. If I hear or read: “We need to talk,” “Could you please call me?” “I have to tell you something later,” or the like, I’m filled with anxiety. I can’t prepare for the conversation, so I know I’ll take a long time forming responses, be entirely unable to modulate my tone or emotions, and may melt or shut down entirely, or leave the situation before I do.

12. And then sometimes I get to that situation and the person is like, “I just wanted to tell you that I couldn’t find that hot sauce you like.” Now I still have to craft an emotionally appropriate response that is calm even though my nerves are screaming because I had to be ready for ANYTHING.

13. These things happen fast enough that I’m usually able to come up with something satisfactory to respond with, but it feels like physical exertion in my nervous system. Too many unexpected communication situations and I lose my ability to communicate.

14. I like theatre because I have the words. I have the stage directions and blocking. I can enjoy an interaction with others and be in the moment because I don’t have to constantly check my words for associated physical behaviors that I have minimal or no control over.

15. When I combine words together, my face and body are trying to follow along, but they don’t always match. I don’t notice this, but others do.

I can still hear the different ways I’ve heard words pronounced and used. But because I was expending all my effort to make sure I look and sound “normal,” I can come away from conversations not knowing who I spoke to in any meaningful way. I love being on the stage, whether acting or lecturing. I can call up words I need across languages. I’m filled with fear when I know that back and forth social interaction lies ahead.

[iwonderwh0]

I do believe that consciousness is several interconnected systems (not conscious on their own) working together in pretty deterministic ways (indeed akin the way reasoning language models operate) but in such a complex conditions and large scale, their joined work becomes something bigger than just a sum of each, it becomes the consciousness. I don't have a better example but I see it kinda like in Gestalt Psychology

"Perception has qualities that are different to the simple combination of sensory qualities. In other words, we see the whole rather than individual details it consists of."

I do acknowledge that Gestalt psychology is more about our perception of things we see but I feel like the concept of "things as a whole are more than just the sum of what they consist of" is true for pretty much everything, including systems that work together.

For that reason I do think AGI is possible (if not already achieved) and if you saw the chain of thinking process of some DeepSeek explaining itself I bet you too could no longer refer to it as "just a fancy autocomplete"

This thought is not depressing, I think it's beautiful

[eesirachs]

what does the trinity mean to you? do you always/mostly think of god that way? your idea of god seems to be very fluid & all-encompassing, as is mine most of the time, and for me a strict trinitarian view kinda gets in the way of that. then again i do think of god as spirit/energy, god as the logos of all gestalts, god as Source beyond being….

god is emergent in inherited narratives. here, faith is negotiated across bodies, language attached to a god that exceeds it by many hands at once. because all god-talk fits ill, there is a kind of right-ness to defaulting to that which moves me into ethical relationship. and so my trinitarian theology is an inherited narrative, one through which i keep tether to my (catholic) church. god is in homoousion, three persons in one essence. god is the father and the son and the hs. there is procession here but no ontological or temporal hierarchy or confusion. when i say the nicene creed, i mean it as much as it lets me

[autisticslp]

Pronoun reversal is when a child uses second and third person pronouns for themself (you, she, he) and first person pronouns for others (calling their mom I or me). It’s common for all kids to confuse pronouns when first learning to talk, but for many autistic kids (as well as kids with other neurodevelopmental disabilities) it can continue until adulthood.

This is due to gestalt language processing. Basically, autistic kids are more likely to learn language in chunks (called gestalts) that are later broken down, rather than as individual words that are later put together (which is analytic language processing). So when a gestalt language processor hears their parent or teacher say, “You’re having fun!” when they’re happy, they’re likely to repeat that phrase the next time they’re happy, saying “You’re having fun!” instead of “I’m having fun.”

Can you explain autistic pronoun reversal to me? Like how exactly does it work?

I have no clue what this means. Is this just someone being transphobic or a genuine question?

[schar-aac]

can you do one for “gestalt language processing” or just “gestalt?” thx

"gestalt" [also here]

image: a column of three circles with a column of three squares on either side. the top and bottom row of shapes are green, and the iddle row is blue.

[nocturnusveritas]

Day 11/100 - 24/04/2025

Finished The Myth of Sisyphus today. I'm terrible at writing reviews and honestly don't know what to say about it - like I said, it was a dense read for me. Already planning to revisit it more slowly though. Genius how Camus sets up the whole argument before telling us to "imagine Sisyphus happy." What a slap in the face really - pointing out we all do these meaningless repetitive tasks every day, yet still find joy in them.

I won't lie - I've been feeling low lately. But I'm trusting the process, believing this exhaustion is just my body adjusting to my new routines.

Work today was a failure. Didn't complete everything I hoped to and pushed several tasks to tomorrow. Studied syntax and visual language - still working through Gestalt principles.

No ENEM prep today. No writing either. Did study English though - simple present tense and possessive/interrogative pronouns.