Free Resources on Gestalt Language Development and Natural Language Acquisition

Are you interested in learning more about gestalt language development, natural language acquisition and child-led therapy but want to comb through the free resources that are available to you before investing money to dive deeper? There are many free resources available to get started. We’ve rounded many of those resources up for you in one place. 

Watch our FREE Masterclass on Echolalia & Child-Led Therapy 

We created a free 54-minute masterclass that is designed for anyone that wants a basic introduction to echolalia and gestalt language development (delayed echolalia is the first stage!). We also discuss how child-led therapy can help support this type of language development. We have had over 20,000+ people watch the Masterclass as of September 2024 and the number increases daily. Enroll in our free masterclass HERE. 

Download our freebie handout

We created a PDF handout to help you explain gestalt language development and delayed echolalia (the first stage in this developmental process) to parents, school staff, or your child's therapy team. This handout is currently available in English and Spanish! Signing up for this freebie handout will also add you to our email list. Joining our email list allows you to be the first one to know when we release new courses or products (or updates to our current courses/products!), blog posts, sales, events/trainings, and more! This freebie/email sign up is available right on the home pages of our website. 

Check out our Instagram Page

Our Instagram is filled with educational posts and short videos (reels) on gestalt language development, natural language acquisition, and child-led therapy. We have answered our most-asked questions there in a shorter format than our courses/products/blog. We show therapy in-action, examples of each stage, provide course and product updates, as well weekly Q&A’s. We have highlights at the top of our profile that round-up our top posts organized by topic, and have pinned some of our most helpful posts for getting started. 

Read through our blog posts

Our blog is another great free resource that covers many of our most-asked questions in a longer format than our Instagram. It’s a great resource to print out or share with families you’re supporting as a clinician or with family members or professionals as a parent of a gestalt language processor. We release a new blog post every Thursday. We’ve covered many topics in relation to gestalt language development so far such as basic introductory information about gestalt language development and the stages,child-led therapy, school supports and IEP goals, AAC, receptive language and comprehension, music supports, literacy, bilingualism, compliance-based therapy, potty training and more! We’ve organized many of the posts into categories for easier searching. Sign up for our email list to be notified each week when a new post releases.

Listen to podcast episodes

If you prefer to listen to podcasts, the founder of Meaningful Speech, Alexandria Zachos, has been featured on many podcasts where she has been interviewed about gestalt language development, natural language acquisition, child-led therapy and more. We have compiled all of these interviews into one place on our website, to make them easy to find and access at any time.

Watch our Lunch & Learn Interviews on Youtube 

We have interviewed so many amazing people for our "lunch and learn" videos that available on the Meaningful Speech YouTube channel such as autistic adult gestalt language processors, Marge Blanc, Dr. Lillian Stiegler, speech-language pathologists, parents of gestalt language processors and have discussed a variety of topics such as parenting GLPs, AAC, school supports, ABA perspectives and more!

Check out the Communication Development Center

Marge Blanc’s website has free information on all of the stages of gestalt language development, Natural Language Acquisition framework and other topics such as speech, regulation, multimodal communication and musical support. You can also find links to articles she has written and videos discussions/stories. Information is available in the following languages: English, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, French and Hindi. 

Check out our resources & References Page 

We have gathered links to all of the resources and references on gestalt language development, natural language acquisition and child-led therapy in one place on our website. Many of these are available for open access viewing. Check them out HERE. 

Scholarship Program

We provide full scholarships for Meaningful Speech courses that are available to speech-language pathologists and other professionals working in under-resourced countries and communities. Scholarships are issued bi-annually in early January and June. You can apply for a scholarship HERE and we will email you if you are chosen to receive a scholarship. 

Want to learn more in-depth information about how to support gestalt language processors?

1. There are many free podcasts, webinars and articles to get you started. A comprehensive list of resources can also be found on our website. We just released a new FREE masterclass on echolalia and child-led therapy that is perfect for anyone starting their learning journey or on the fence about purchasing our courses! 
2. Consider taking the Meaningful Speech course to learn more about how your child or client processes language, how you can help support them from echolalia to self-generated (original flexible) language, child-led therapy, and neurodiversity-affirming practices. Looking for something shorter? We have a 1-hour introductory course perfect for extended family, daycare or school staff.
3. Consider taking our AAC + Gestalt Language Processing course. It will teach you how to identify, evaluate and support gestalt language processors who use AAC or who you think might benefit from AAC.
4. Look for a speech-language pathologist (SLP) who "gets it" and can help you in supporting your child's language development. Check out our registry for SLPs who understand gestalt language processing and child-led therapy.
5. Are you a school-based or private practice clinician looking for intake forms for new clients/students or creative visual reminder posters for your space? Check out the Meaningful Speech Marketplace. 
6. Want to learn more about starting a niche private practice? Watch our 1-hour webinar on starting a niche private practice hosted by Alex Zachos and Jess Teixeira from the Meaningful Speech team HERE.