the gestalt get-together

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
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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
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***Originally aired: 12/8/2025***
Guest: Cristina Easton, Educational Consultant
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Join Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, as she interviews Cristina Easton about raising a musical Gestalt Language Processor. Corinne and Cristina will discuss the family’s shift from speech-only interventions to a musical language approach rooted in the NLA framework (Blanc, 2012). Cristina will describe her son’s progress arc, including musical and melodic gestalts, her advocacy work, and where her family is headed to help their GLP thrive.
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. With extensive experience in education, Cristina has designed inclusive instructional models, founded a new school, developed strategic plans, implemented equitable grading systems, and enhanced student voice in course selection while leading teams as a school administrator. She emphasizes centering the voices of marginalized communities in decision-making processes. Cristina holds a B.A. in Sociology from Smith College, an M.S. in Special Education, as a New York City Teaching Fellow, and an M.A. in School Leadership from Bank Street College of Education. A 2024 graduate of the Arc of Maryland’s Partners in Policymaking, she actively works to foster a world that embraces equity and joy for her son and all of us. In 2021, Cristina and her husband learned that their son was autistic. This catapulted their family into Autism acceptance and family advocacy. Together, they founded the Embrace Play playgroup for families of neurodivergent children ages birth to ten. Through Embrace, the Eastons have provided spaces for families to enjoy where their children and their needs and gifts are validated, and where families can learn from and lean on one another. Cristina is a member of the 2025 Kennedy Krieger Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities program and the Arc of Maryland’s Partners in Policymaking 2024 cohort.
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Musical speech therapy techniques for the non-musical SLP.
Guest: Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP
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Take the FREE Pediatric Feeding Courses for ASHA CEUs (through June 30, 2026)
Want to incorporate music into your speech therapy sessions but don't know where to start? Michelle and Corinne share easy-to-use resources to help non-musical SLPs confidently incorporate music into sessions, along with evidence-based tools for clinicians looking to deepen their knowledge of music-based language intervention.
About the Guest: Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, is a musical speech-language pathologist based in Baltimore, Maryland, and the founder of *Messy Happy Music Lab*, a private practice specializing in neurodivergent language acquisition, musical language therapy, Gestalt Processing, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
Show Notes:
Please note the following correction: A4 (A above middle C) is 440Hz, not middle C as stated.
Contact Corinne:
IG: @crescendo.communication
crescendocommunication.com
Gestalt Get-Together podcast

Love Money: Support Marian House in Baltimore
Join the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders
Run the Virtual Dash For Dysphagia June 6-13, 2026
Dysphagia Research Society
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Learn how gestalt-based approaches can transform feeding therapy for autistic children and their families.
Guest: Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP
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How can GLP-informed strategies support pediatric feeding therapy for autistic children? In this episode, Corinne Zmoos, MS, CCC-SLP, interviews Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, host of the First Bite SLP podcast, to explore her work on pediatric feeding disorders in young autistic individuals. They discuss subtle, often overlooked signs of PFD, as well as medical factors that can impact feeding and swallowing. Together, they explore evidence-informed approaches to care, including how to incorporate linguistic and cognitive gestalts into therapy to support meaningful progress. You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of how GLP-informed strategies align with feeding therapy to better support autistic children and their families.
About the Guest: Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP works for Augusta County Public School as a full-time early intervention speech-language pathologist with the Infant and Toddler Connection of Augusta-Highland in Staunton, VA, and as an adjunct professor at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, NC. Additionally, she is the acclaimed host of “First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional,” a weekly speech therapy podcast that addresses “all thangs” of pediatric speech therapy and is presented by Speech Therapy PD. Michelle authored Chasing the Swallow: Truth, Science, and Hope for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders.
Show Notes:
Feeding Matters
Feeding Matters PFD pdf
Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ
Talk to Me Technologies
SOS Approach to Feeding
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