Our gestalt language processors' first step in their language development is acquiring verbatim scripts or phrases that are meaningful to them, and using them spontaneously later in other contexts (this is referred to as "delayed echolalia" or using "gestalts").
The great thing is that our GLPs will acquire phrases when they are modelled naturally, but there are a few considerations we should keep in mind, such as:
The shift from modelling "survival language" (sentence strips, single words, labelling) can feel like a big one, but your GLP will develop more flexible language if we meet them where they are at as gestalt language processors. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Today we "commuted" 850 km by plane to our most Northern community, which we are traveling to both this week and next.
The views were amazing as always, though it did get cold near the end, and there is still a little bit of snow left here (even though it's the end of May)! My favourite part was finding some shells from the Arctic Ocean! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
We were so honoured to each receive a custom-made Ribbon Skirt last week when visiting a fly-in Indigenous community.
I think the highlight of the trip was when the kokums (grandmas) made us spin around while the Kindergarteners told us how beautiful the skirts were. We love this description from www.theribbonskirtproject.ca: "For Indigenous peoples, the Ribbon Skirt represents our own personal reclamation. It represents reclaiming identity, and wearing that identity proudly. It has become armour. It is a cultural protection against assimilation and degradation. It is a reminder of our roles in our community as women and as members. It reminds us of our sacredness as women and the power in that. It tells our story of adaptation and survival." And how fitting is the pink? by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
After 3 years of traveling to northern remote communities that are only accessible by plane, I've learned a few tips & tricks so that the trips go as smoothly as possible...
1. Batch meal-prepping. I am not kidding when I say I'll make 6 chicken pot pies at once, or two full crockpots of chilli. Soups, bagels, banana bread, casseroles, etc. are great for bringing up North and reheating, and have the added benefit of acting like an ice pack (since space can be scarce!). 2. Bring up as much water as we can. There are still 26 First Nations communities (and no, that's not a typo) without access to clean drinking water. We are visiting one this week. Even if a community is not under a water advisory, things can happen that result in not having drinking water. 3. Pack an extra set of clothes (and food) in a carry-on. This is good practice wherever you travel, but since we have to take 2 flights to get to each community, that is double the chance of lost or stuck luggage. Learned this one the hard way! Have questions about being an SLP/service provider with Northern travel? Drop them below! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Join me on a full travel day to a remote Indigenous fly-in community! Today was a full day including 2 flights, meeting with an audiologist, and some unexpected turbulence...
Questions about Northern travel or fly-in services? Drop them below! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
I think this clip demonstrates a few things we really strive for at HAEPI SLP: following the child's lead, embracing all play, and modelling without expectation both on AAC and verbal phrases for gestalt language processors.
The @gestaltgoodness cards shown were also a great addition - my kiddo loved listening to the child model via the QR code. Usually I stay completely away from flash cards with GLPs, but these ones are designed for the communication partners (not necessarily the child), so WE can remember to model naturally in play, and use easily mitigable phrases across contexts. I also loved introducing the cards to school staff to further explain how we can model (!!!), because it takes a while to become natural for anyone new to GLP! *I received these First Phrases cards as a gift, with no expectation to review. Just love them that much!* by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
HAEPI 1st Birthday!
Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that a year after opening my practice (intended for just me), I would have 8 staff (missing Zac!) and counting (!!!) putting their trust in me and committing to neurodiversity-affirming SLP/OT/music-based therapies in Thunder Bay. I feel incredibly blessed and am so thankful for our community! I am beyond excited to see what next year brings. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
We are looking for an Indigenous digital illustrator (located in Canada) for an exciting project!
Please share this within your circles to help us find the perfect fit. Interested applicants are encouraged to email [email protected] with a short biography of themselves and a portfolio of their work. Chi-miigwech! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
After a year of running HAEPI SLP Therapy Services, we figured it's time for a reintroduction of our owner/founder and SLP, Halle Demchuk!
Halle (Ha-lee) is a proud Metis clinician, born and raised in Northwestern Ontario. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal in 2020. In addition to running HAEPI, she works for an Indigenous school board that services remote fly-in communities (furthest being on Hudson's Bay) in Northern Ontario! She is multi-passionate in the areas of gestalt language processing, AAC, speech sounds, literacy, and working with Indigenous populations using dynamic (non-standardized) approaches. In her spare time, you can find Halle at the gym, eating good food with her partner, or paddle-boarding with her adventure cat, Beth @beththecat! Let us know if you share anything in common with Halle below!
When mitigating in Stage 2 of Natural Language Acquisition, we want to use a Stage 1 gestalt that a child already has and alter it.
This can look like fitting different endings/beginnings within existing "frames," or shortening existing gestalts. Wondering what this looks like in action? Watch as Halle demonstrates in a mock play-based speech therapy session! Tune into our FREE 1-hour webinar on GLP for more info on Stage 2. Let us know in the comments if you found this helpful! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
I get this question A LOT, and to be honest, it's a hard one to answer! Because my geographic location is an urban hub in Northern Ontario (17 hours from Toronto and 8 hours from other urban centres), it's just something that necessarily exists where I live!
I wanted to take this opportunity to share some other things I considered when choosing this position, and whether or not it would work for me! Some other reasons I love to live and work in Northern Ontario are... I'm from here, I love the outdoors, the cost of living is lower than most other parts of Canada, and we have a really great local community. Feel free to drop other questions you have about fly-in therapy to remote Indigenous communities! P.S., Our furthest community is located 850 km from where I live! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP We just dropped our new FREE handout on Declarative Language, available for download below and on our Resources page! Great for gestalt language processors and pathological demand avoidance profiles (and kids in general!), we've included examples for modelling and narrating for a variety of communicative functions. Let us know what you think! What handout should we develop next? ![]()
by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Articulation difficulties are VERY common, and kids don't acquire each sound at the same age.
The great thing about play-based and strength-based intervention is we can target articulation goals with children as young as 3 - there is no reason a child needs to sit at a table for speech therapy! Swipe through to learn more about articulation milestones (or visit our page on Speech Disorders), and be sure to save the visual on the last slide to make sure your child's speech development stays on track! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
When we model in Stage 1, we aren't actually modelling "gestalts" since gestalts have specific meaning to the GLP. Instead, we are modelling functional phrases (ideally across a variety of contexts) that MAY be picked up with meaning.
Wondering what this looks like in action? Watch as Halle demonstrates in a mock play-based speech therapy session. Tune into our FREE 1-hour webinar on GLP for more info on Stage 1. The goal here is to fill the GLP's environment with phrases (e.g., "open it up," "put it on," "ready, set, go") that are easier to mitigate in Stage 2. Let us know in the comments if you found this helpful! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Now that I've been providing virtual & fly-in services to remote Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario for 2.5 years, I have learned and am continuing to learn about healthcare & services up North... and how incredibly hard it can be to access them.
Clinicians either need to travel in, or families have to travel out, for appointments. But flights are expensive - it costs less for two people to fly round trip to Europe than for one round trip flight within the same province. Weather plays a huge factor on whether flights are cancelled, and appointments missed. Specialist appointments that are missed might not be rescheduled for 6 months... I have seen all of these situations happen. Speech therapists are trained extensively on administering tests and analyzing how children are progressing with their speech and language skills, but there are many cases where standardized tests cannot be used. This is because these tests are typically created for white, middle-class American children. Using these tests for Indigenous children is, evidently, not appropriate. There are currently no standardized tests that are normed for Indigenous children - which automatically puts them at a disadvantage and is not functional. These tests do not take into consideration geographical dialects, their second language learning, or parts of language that may be more meaningful to these populations (e.g., oral story telling). As a Metis clinician, I am proud to work as an SLP in Northern communities, and I feel that my job is to listen and make suggestions where I am able. These suggestions are: to build on the children's strengths, make appropriate referrals, and invest in the inherent capacity within the community, so they can continue to help their students grow. These lessons have been invaluable. Iâm honoured to keep learning and growing thanks to these experiences. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Language matters, and as an Indigenous SLP who is white-presenting with white privilege, it I often hear this word in conversation and media.
This is a really important reminder if "savage" is part of your vocabulary, that this word is a derogatory term that was used to describe Indigenous people in official documentation when they were being colonized in North America both in the United States and Canada. It was used to mean uncivilized, violent, and brutal. It is a racial slur, not un-similar to the N-word. So, if this word is part of your vocabulary, I urge you to remove it and to educate others on why it is inappropriate as well. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Really inspired by everyone's vulnerability and human-ness with this trend, and I think the messaging is so important.
Social media can make us feel like everyone else "has it all together" when that is very rarely the case. These things will continue to be stigmatized (and hidden) unless we talk about it. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Did you know we offer speech & language check-ins for babies & toddlers aged 10-36 months?
Our SLPs, Halle & Megan, can assess your child's pre-linguistic, speech, language, and play skills and leave you with strategies and recommendations to facilitate development in these areas. These check-ins can help ensure your child has access to early intervention if warranted, and well as referrals to other professionals if needed. Sessions may be one-time or occur periodically (e.g., once a month; every few months) to follow your child's development. Sessions with a speech language pathologist are eligible for reimbursement by private insurance plans! Check with yours today to see if you have coverage. Questions? Drop them below, send us a message, or inquire here. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Speech therapy often relies heavily on reinforcement, so how do we balance when we can use positive reinforcement in ways such as token boards and sticker charts, and when should we steer clear?
Using a neurodiversity-affirming lens, this is all going to depend on WHO you are working with, WHAT your goals are, and THE MOTIVATION behind the goals. Token boards and positive reinforcements are not inherently bad tools, and I use them myself in my daily life (as they are INTRINSICALLY motivating for me!). I also often do include reinforcement activities when working with neurotypical children on goals such as speech sounds. The problem is when we use these tools to positively reinforce neurotypical behaviours or communication styles in children who are not neurotypical. This can be harmful because we are relying on extrinsic reinforcement for something as human as communication, of which there are many styles and methods, and one is not better than the other. We are inadvertently telling our children that their style is not welcome and they have to conform/adapt/mask to ours. So what can we do instead? We want to honour TOTAL communication from the child. We follow the child's lead and interests, and incorporate their interests into sessions to provide that intrinsic motivation. Communication shouldn't be work or uncomfortable for our children, and our goal should be to provide an environment where communication and connection are intrinsically motivating. Do you have questions? Drop them below! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
I recently presented on gestalt language processing for NOSM University, Canada's only independent medical school, on GLP for healthcare professionals in the North. While this is the target audience, the webinar is available for free to everyone and would be appropriate for parents, professionals, or anyone who would like to learn!
Follow along while we dive into the research, look at the Natural Language Acquisition stages in depth (including mock therapy videos), and discuss implications for GLPs with AAC. Watch the webinar (and get access to the slides) here! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP Halle's appearance on the 'Spill the S.L.T.' podcast: GLP, fly-in therapy, and swimming cats!2/27/2024
I loved talking to my lovely German SLP friends on their podcast, Spill the S.L.T.! Tune in here as we discuss fly-in therapy, GLP, working with Indigenous communities, swimming cats, and more!
by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Let's talk pronoun reversal in gestalt language processors.
As a parent you may have wondered why your child always seems to confuse "I" and "you"? As an SLP, you maybe have wondered, how do we target this? When we understand that our GLPs are picking up verbatim utterances from adult models that they have attached meaning to, as their gestalts, it makes a lot of sense! When we honour and understand these utterances without trying to change them, and instead change how WE model language, that's when we will see a shift happen. And we can expect NOT to see kids began to tease apart these pronouns on their own until stages 3-4. We don't want to rush it, instead we should focus on modelling from the child's perspective or a joint perspective (e.g, "we are ____; "let's go _____"). Have questions about pronoun reversal in GLPs? Drop your questions below! by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Self-advocacy is SUCH an essential communication skill for all kids, but especially for our autistic kids who likely have sensory preferences or needs. Neurodiversity-affirming goals should therefore incorporate the specific needs of the child, including sensory needs.
I know I didn't learn much (or anything...!) about creating neurodiversity-affirming goals in school, and it can seem overwhelming at first. However, when we put our kids' needs first and eliminate compliance-based therapy, it makes a lot of sense. I knew today we wouldn't get access to the school's sensory room (which is a reality, by the way! How cool is that?) so I made sure to bring materials with me that would allow for sensory breaks. This was his first time seeing this seat spinner, so I just modelled how it can be used. I even demonstrated (or tried to demonstrate) how it can be used. Maybe one day he will use it, maybe he won't, but he will learn from me that he can always ask for his needs to be met. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP
Qualification criteria is ableist, not evidence-based, and restricts access to the human right of communication for kids who need it the most.
Could you imagine what it would be like to tell a kindergarten-aged child, "looks like you can't hold a pencil, so that means you'll never be able to write. We may as well never let you have a pencil since you clearly can't use it." Do we all agree that's ridiculous? Yet, that's essentially what we are doing when we deny a child access to AAC systems because they aren't matching a picture or selecting an icon independently during the time of the AAC assessment. My hope for the future is that we can eliminate qualification criteria for funded AAC systems, so that we can get AAC into the hands of all children who need it. by Halle Demchuk, SLPPaediatric SLP | GLP-Trained Clinician | Owner of HAEPI SLP |
The HAEPI BlogCheck here for HAEPI updates, helpful SLP information, free resources, articles, and more!
Archives
November 2024
Categories
All
|
get in touch |
Quick Links |