the gestalt get-together

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

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