the gestalt get-together

Put identity at the heart of communication.

Guest: Christina Royster, EdD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL

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In this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together podcast, host Corinne Zmoos welcomes Christina Royster, EdD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, to discuss the importance of cultural representation and customization in pediatric augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). They examine how biases and barriers within AAC apps and programs can limit representation for children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and why personalization matters when creating meaningful communication experiences.

AAC should do more than support communication. It should also reflect the identity, experiences, and culture of the person using it. Christina shares practical ideas for customizing AAC systems to better represent a child's language, family, cultural background, and everyday life, helping SLPs think beyond standard vocabulary and system features.

Corinne also connects these considerations to the communication needs of multilingual and multicultural gestalt language processors, highlighting how thoughtful AAC selection and customization can better reflect each child's unique identity and communication needs.

About the Guest: Dr. Christina Royster is the owner/founder of Play on Words Therapy (MD/DC). She has been practicing for fifteen years, specializing in working with individuals with various language differences and AAC. She is a Board Certified Specialist in both AAC and Child Language. Christina currently works in a variety of settings, including private practice, schools, adult group homes, and academia. She has also run an award-winning, language-based summer program for the past ten years. Christina advocates for increased diversity and inclusivity in the SLP field through DiverCity SLP and DiverseAAC.

Show Notes:

Contact Corinne Zmoos: Instagram, LinkedIn, Linktree

Contact Christina Royster: LinkedIn

Practical Resources for Provision of Services to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Users of AAC

Training Partners in AAC in Culturally Diverse Families

Lending Libraries

Universal Core Vocabulary

Diverse AAC

How can SLPs, educators, and caregivers of autistic individuals intentionally model more sensitive language related to gender and sexuality?

Guest: Dr. Kelly Coburn, PhD, CCC-SLP

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In this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together, Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, interviews Kelly Coburn, PhD, about their research on communication patterns among autistic adults whose genders have been underrepresented in the literature. Dr. Coburn discusses how patterns of language use may contribute to camouflaging, which can play a role in missed or delayed autism diagnoses.

Corinne and Dr. Coburn also discuss the current debate surrounding gestalt language processing (GLP) and Natural Language Acquisition (NLA). As a clinician, Dr. Coburn has used some of these principles in practice and has seen clients make progress. As a researcher, however, they share concerns about the lack of peer-reviewed, data-based evidence supporting GLP as a distinct language processing profile and NLA as a framework for intervention.

Dr. Coburn also discusses what clinicians can learn from research published in the 1970s and 1980s and how future research could examine different language processing profiles to identify sound intervention strategies.

About the Guest: Dr. Kelly Coburn (they/them) is an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist and an Assistant Professor in Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Clinically, they specialize in augmentative/alternative communication (AAC), autism, and developmental disabilities. Kelly’s research addresses communication by autistic people, with a focus on adults whose genders have been under-represented in prior literature. Kelly’s interest in autism is both professional and personal, motivated by their experiences as a pediatric clinician and as a member of autistic families. They take a neurodiversity-affirming approach to research, teaching, and clinical practice. Kelly particularly enjoys qualitative and mixed-methods research, mentoring student researchers, and collaborating with community partners.

Show Notes:

Contact Corinne Zmoos: Instagram, LinkedIn, Linktree

Contact Dr. Kelly Coburn: LinkedIn

Quantitative Analysis of Narrative Discourse by Autistic Adults of Underrepresented Genders

Self-Diagnosis of Autism: What Is the Speech-Language Pathologist's Role?

Thematic Analysis of Personal Narratives Spoken by Autistic Adults of Underrepresented Genders

What looks like “bad” behavior might be learning in action.

Guest: Mick Olds, OTR/L

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In this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together, host Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, talks with Mick Olds, OTR/L, known as “The Occuplaytional Therapist,” about schema play and the ways autistic children and gestalt language processors (GLPs) may use repeated patterns of play to learn about their world.

Corinne and Mick discuss eight common play schemas: connecting, orienting, transporting, trajectory, positioning, enveloping, enclosing, and rotation. Through examples, Mick explains how behaviors that adults may view as challenging or “bad” can actually reflect a child experimenting with objects, cause and effect, movement, space, and their environment.

The episode also looks at what these patterns can tell us about a child’s interests and development, and how recognizing schema play can help clinicians better understand and support a child’s play rather than redirecting it. Corinne and Mick connect these early play experiences to the development of skills children can build on throughout everyday life.

About the Guest: Mick Olds, OTR/L, also known as “The Occuplaytional Therapist,” is an occupational therapist who shares every day with thousands of people online—parents, teachers, fellow professionals, and adults healing their own childhoods—about the power of play in children's lives. Mick has worked with kids in all kinds of settings: from rural Oklahoma, to an Air Force base in England, to their current home in Geelong, Victoria. Their experiences across different countries and systems give them a unique perspective on how healthcare and education shape childhood.

Show Notes:

Contact Corinne Zmoos: Instagram, LinkedIn, Linktree

Contact Mick Olds: Instagram, The Occuplaytional Therapist

What are play schemas and why do they matter?

Schematic Driven Pedagogy (SDP): The Potential Impact for Autistic Children

Piaget’s Schema & Learning Theory: 3 Fascinating Experiments

12 Important Early Childhood Play Schemas

Tune into the connections between music, movement, and sensory processing.

Guest: Jessica Teich, PhD, MT-BC, MTA, NMT-F™

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In this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together, host Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, is joined by Jessi Teich, PhD, MT-BC, MTA, NMT-F™, to discuss music-based sensorimotor interventions for children with autism. Drawing from her work as a music therapist and researcher, Dr. Teich examines how music and rhythm can support sensory processing, motor control, and self-regulation.

Differences in sensory integration, motor coordination, and self-regulation can influence how autistic children engage, move, communicate, and participate in everyday activities. Dr. Teich explains how rhythm and structured musical input interact with the brain's motor, sensory, and timing networks, offering a closer look at the connections between music, movement, and sensory processing.

The episode also examines rhythm-based and music-based interventions designed to address individual sensory and motor needs. SLPs will better understand the science behind these approaches and how music-based sensorimotor interventions may fit within interdisciplinary support for autistic children.

About the Guest: Dr. Jessica Teich (pronounced teach) is the Founder and Director of Rhythma Health Solutions™, an Ontario-based clinic that provides individualized neurologic music therapy® clinical care for Neurodivergent individuals and people with complex sensory and motor-related barriers. She holds a PhD in Music and Health Sciences and is a Board-Certified Music Therapist and Neurologic Music Therapist®, Fellow. Her work integrates advanced clinical training, research expertise, and real-world music experience to support neurodivergent and neurologically complex individuals and families.

Show Notes:

Contact Corinne Zmoos: Instagram, LinkedIn, Linktree

Contact Jessica Teich: LinkedIn, Rhythma Health Solutions

Sensing echoes: temporal misalignment in auditory brainstem responses as the earliest marker of neurodevelopmental derailment

The Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy

From language modeling to play, refresh the tools you use every day.

Guest: Emily Byers Chaney, MS, CCC-SLP

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Whether you’re new to gestalt language processing or could use a refresher, this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together brings the basics back into focus. Host Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, is joined by Emily Byers Chaney, MS, CCC-SLP, to talk through echolalia, language modeling, play-based intervention, and how GLP discourse has evolved.

Using real-world clinical examples, Corinne and Emily make these ideas easier to understand and apply. You’ll come away with practical ways to expand language, encourage reciprocal interactions, and more confidently support gestalt language processors in your everyday practice.

About the Guest: Emily Byers Chaney, M.S., CCC-SLP is a a pediatric speech-language pathologist and the founder of Boundless Speech and Language, a private practice in Los Angeles offering both in-person and teletherapy services across California. With eight years of experience, Emily is dedicated to providing neurodiversity-affirming, child-led care, helping families move toward relationship-centered and co-regulating models of care. She is passionate about empowering families through strengths-based approaches and regularly shares educational content for both parents and professionals focused on practical, evidence-informed ways to support neurodivergent children while honoring their individual communication styles, support needs, and strengths.

Show Notes:

Contact Corinne Zmoos: LinkedIn, Instagram, Linktree

Contact Erin Forward: Instagram

Communication Development Center

Natural Language Acquisition on the Autism Spectrum

Meaningful Speech

Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition

The functions of immediate echolalia in autistic children.

Turn connection into communication with practical DIR Floortime® strategies for supporting GLPs.

Guest: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC

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In this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together podcast, host Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, is joined by Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC, to discuss how the DIR Floortime® approach can enhance clinical practice with gestalt language processors (GLPs). Together, they examine how understanding individual differences through the Floortime model can strengthen communication, relationships, and language development.

Corinne and Erin explore functional emotional developmental capacities, circles of communication, and the role these concepts play in supporting children who use gestalt language processing. They also discuss how gestalt language processing can be understood as an individual difference within the DIR Floortime approach, offering practical insights to help SLPs foster meaningful interactions and support the growth of authentic communication.

About the Guest: Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC, is a speech-language pathologist, DIR/Floortime® Expert Provider, and founder of Nourishing Connection LLC. She is newly a full time Expert DIR/Floortime staff member for ICDL. She specializes in relationship-based, neurodiversity-affirming support for children and families with feeding and communication differences. Erin is an international speaker and host of the Rooted in Connection podcast, where she explores the power of relationships in healthcare, parenting, and everyday life. She believes that relationship based care is the core of what helps children and families thrive.

Show Notes:

Contact Corinne Zmoos: LinkedIn, Linktree

Contact Erin Forward: LinkedIn, Nourishing Connection

Zero To Three

Home of DIRFloortime - What is DIR

Home of DIRFloortime - Affect Diathesis Hypothesis

Home of DIRFloortime - Child Development

Music and Early Language Acquisition

Searching for Roots of Entrainment and Joint Action in Early Musical Interactions

Developmental Pathways for Kids - Ideation

Affect Autism

Rooted in Conntection Podcast - Erin Forward

How can we incorporate brain health into everyday clinical practice?

Guest: Jennifer Ruckner, MS, CCC-SLP

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Brainstorms podcast host Renee Garrett, PhD, CCC-SLP, CBIS, is joined by Jennifer Ruckner, MS, CCC-SLP, for a practical discussion on how speech-language pathologists can incorporate brain health into everyday clinical practice. Together, they break down the neuroscience behind neuroplasticity, cognitive reserve, and lifestyle factors that influence brain function, while exploring what brain health really means across the continuum of care.

About the Guest: Jennifer Ruckner, MS, CCC-SLP, is a seasoned speech-language pathologist with over three decades of experience across Early Intervention, school districts, and private practice. She earned her Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Communication Disorders from Auburn University and has practiced since 1990. Jennifer specializes in Social/Pragmatic Language, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Expressive Language Disorder, and Feeding Disorders.

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Small shifts in your coaching can make a lasting impact at home.

Guest: Cristina J. Easton, Educational Consultant

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In this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together, host Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, welcomes back Cristina Easton to discuss what effective parent coaching looks like through the eyes of a parent of a Gestalt Language Processor. Drawing from her own experiences, Cristina shares what helped her feel supported, what created barriers to learning, and how clinicians can build stronger partnerships with families throughout the therapy process.

Together, Corinne and Cristina discuss practical coaching strategies that encourage collaboration, confidence, and meaningful carryover beyond the therapy room. You'll learn ways to provide education and feedback that feel supportive rather than overwhelming, helping families become active, empowered members of the therapeutic team.

Whether you're new to parent coaching or looking to strengthen your approach, this episode offers thoughtful insights and real-world perspectives that can help you create more effective, family-centered therapy for Gestalt Language Processors.

About the Guest: Cristina J. Easton is the founder of imPACT Educational Consulting, LLC, Director at Educator Support Collaborative, and Program Strategy Manager at AdoptAClassroom.org. She majored in Sociology at Smith College, earned her Master's in Teaching as a New York City Teaching Fellow in Special Education, and her Master's in Education Leadership at Bank Street College of Education. Her mission is to guide projects from promise to impact, focusing on measurable actions that promote voice, equity, and joy for youth, families, educators, and institutions.

Show Notes:

In Vivo Feedback Predicts Parent Behavior Change in the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up Intervention

The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook - Dathan D. Rush & M'Lisa L. Shelden

Therapeutic Climbing: A Pediatric Top-Rope Rock Climbing Program for Sensory Integration Through Social Prescribing

Neurodivergent Climbers: Finding Balance On and Off the Wall

Effect of an indoor climbing program on selective attention of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Reflection Questions

Discover how singable stories can unlock meaningful language learning for GLPs.

Guest: Rachel See, MA, MT-BC

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Join host Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, on The Gestalt Get-Together as she welcomes Rachel See, MA, MT-BC, for a conversation about using singable stories to support language development in gestalt language processors (GLPs). Together, they explore how music, storytelling, and literacy can be combined to create engaging, meaningful language-learning experiences.

Rachel explains what makes a story “singable” and why musical books and stories can be such a powerful tool for supporting communication. You’ll learn how singable stories can target language goals through repetition, predictability, shared attention, and meaningful interaction, while also supporting connection and engagement.

About the Guest: After graduating with an undergrad degree in communication disorders and a Master’s in music therapy, Rachel See, MA, MT-BC became interested in how language and music intersect, connect, and enhance each other. Starting in 2011, Rachel opened her private practice in Austin, worked for 11 years in the public school special education classrooms in St. Louis, and now owns and operates the Singable Book Club.Show Notes:

Show Notes:

Book- This Is How We Play

Book- Hi, How Are You

Book- Charlie Parker Played Be Bop

Book- Trashy Town

Rhythm and music for promoting sensorimotor organization in autism: broader implications for outcomes

Auditory-Motor Mapping Training as an Intervention to Facilitate Speech Output in Non-Verbal Children with Autism: A Proof of Concept Study

The Therapeutic Effects of Singing in Neurological Disorders

Supporting GLPs starts with supporting the team around them.

Guest: Tara Phillips, MS, CCC-SLP

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In this episode of The Gestalt Get-Together, Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, is joined by Tara Phillips, MS, CCC-SLP, for a conversation about supporting educators and paraprofessionals who work with Gestalt Language Processors (GLPs). Together, they explore how SLPs can build collaborative relationships with school teams, explain echolalia in approachable, meaningful ways, and share GLP-informed strategies that carry over throughout the school day.

Corinne and Tara also discuss ways to track and interpret gestalts as a team, helping educators better understand what a student’s language is communicating and how to support language development across settings. You’ll walk away with ideas for strengthening communication with school staff, increasing consistency in support, and creating a more collaborative approach for GLP students.

About the Guest: Tara Phillips is a speech-language pathologist with over 25 years of experience working with young autistic children. After decades in the school setting, she saw how overwhelmed and under-supported preschool special educators often felt—and how hard it was to find meaningful, engaging resources for young autistic learners. So in 2019, she founded Autism Little Learners. Today, Tara supports educators around the world with practical, neurodiversity-affirming strategies that help them move from overwhelm to confidence.

Show Notes:

The Hanen Centre- It's "Owl" About Having Fun

Repeating purposefully: Empowering educators with functional communication models of echolalia in Autism

Meaningful Speech