Speech Spark- Speech and Language Therapy

“By what age should my child move to the next GLP stage?” - this is a question I hear a lot from parents.

The simple answer is: there isn’t a particular age by which a child should move from one NLA stage to another.

One helpful principle from Marge Blanc is: don’t compare a GLP (Gestalt Language Processor) with an ALP (Analytic Language Processor).

Within the NLA framework, they distinguish different routes through language development.

An analytic learner might build:
“car” → “red car” → “Daddy’s red car”

While a gestalt language learner may start with whole chunks:
“Are you ready to go?” → “ready to go” → “go outside” → increasingly flexible language

NLA stages don’t correspond to specific ages - there isn’t an age by which a child is expected to reach or move on from a particular stage.

Instead of asking “What stage should they be at by now?”, look at their own progress: are they using language for more purposes, changing and combining familiar phrases, and becoming more flexible in how they communicate?

Different route. Different timeline. Look for growth, not comparison. 🌱

What a journey… such an inspiring story 💖

My 9 year old PDAer has never been into drawing. Which is absolutely fine. If something that is supposed to be fun is just not fun for you, I don't know why you would do it.

They had a traumatic experience in Art at school when they were 6. It absolutely destroyed art for them, and my heart is still aching and furious because of it.

It took a year of zero-demand unschooling before my kid felt ok picking up a pencil. It took another 6 months before they started to use that pencil for writing again.

Another 9 months later... they are drawing.
Every morning this kid sits down at the table to draw. They don't even necessarily have an idea of what they'll draw. They just make a start. And they do it for ages.

They draw obstacle courses. They draw vehicles. They draw animals and characters. They draw inventions and machines. They draw hectic geometry dash stages. And busy scenes. And they add writing as well.

This week they asked me what they should draw. I suggested a shark because we had just been reading about ocean creatures. My kid laughed and said that they didn't really know how to draw a shark. And then- they drew one anyway. They commented cheerfully that it didn't look much like a shark. They said the tail was wrong. And then they continued to draw more ocean creatures.

And it would be easy to look at that and not think much of it. But I know just how long it has taken to get to this point. I know what it means.

My kid has lightness again. And they have capacity now. To build skills. To try new things. To think of ideas. To get things not quite right. To continue with imperfect results. To spend time creating, just for the joy. To let their beautiful imagination out.

It's not actually about drawing.
It's about what it means for my kid.

And it means everything.

Em 🌈

Pic of my kid's time machine ❤️❤️❤️

Last school day be like.. 😅