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35 %u00a9 Elklan Training Limited 2025Elklan Supporting Gestalt Language Processing %u2013 a Total Communication Approach5.4 AFFIRMING GESTALTSAffirming a gestalt means letting the child or young person know you have recognised they are communicating with meaning. This includes remembering to respond to all vocal and verbal gestalts including single word gestalts. When a child or young person is developing analytical language, and they say a single word where the word maps on to the meaning we often respond by modelling with an expansion of their utterance. For example, the child or young person says %u2018bus%u2019 and the adult responds with %u2018Yes, a big bus.%u2019 The Gestalt Language Processor at Stages 1 and 2 may be using the word %u2018bus%u2019 for a different meaning such as wanting to sing the rhyme %u2018The Wheels On The Bus%u2019 so expanding to %u2018big bus%u2019 may not be helpful.In response to a single word gestalt, respond to the known meaning of the single word. For example, when child J said %u2018Lego%u2019 for repeatedly building towers, the adult responded with %u2018Let%u2019s build a tower%u2019 This is preferable to %u2018Let%u2019s play with Lego%u2019 as this does not map directly onto the child%u2019s meaning. Avoid modelling grammar and/or encouraging the child to say %u2018I want to build a tower%u2019.Children and young people developing their speech can use different patterns of articulation and might need additional support with speech sound production but at a much later GLP Stage. At Stage 1 Gestalt Language Processing, the focus is on the meaning of what the child or young person says rather than how the words are articulated. For example, child DB says %u2018yubby%u2019 derived from %u2018yummy%u2019 when they are trying to open the lid of the play dough to make pretend food. DB uses the gestalt %u2018Yubby%u2019 as anything to do with food. Therefore, the adult repeats back %u2018Yubby%u2019 and %u2018We can make sausages%u2019, rather than %u2018Do you need help opening the pot?%u2019.It can be that the adult does not know the source of the gestalt or understand the meaning, but it is important they respond. The adult should follow what the child or young person does and respond to gestalts of unknown meaning by:%u2022 Nodding and/or smiling%u2022 Saying %u2018ok%u2019 or a similar affirmative vocalisation%u2022 Joining in or responding to physical gestalts%u2022 Repeating back what they vocalise or verbalise or saying %u2018OK, you said%u2026.%u2019.If the child or young person is using many single word gestalts, then care needs to be taken not to respond to these as if they were single words conveying direct meaning or focusing on the single words rather than the gestalt phrases. If an emphasis is given to single words, there may not be as much scope for increasing the number of gestalts which can be mitigated in Stage 2 GLP.