In this episode of the Preschool SLP Podcast, Kelly Vess takes a deep dive into Marge Blanc’s Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) framework for children with autism. You’ll explore the six stages of gestalt language development, what they reveal about a child’s journey from echolalia to self-generated speech, and the strengths and weaknesses of using this approach for assessment. Kelly also shares why objectivity is critical in language sampling, how to avoid the pitfalls of subjective interpretation, and why looking at intra-repetitive speech can provide a more reliable measure of progress. If you’re looking for practical ways to bring these insights directly into therapy and bridge them to the home, the SIS Membership provides you with weekly, ready-to-use, empirically-based activities—including Google Slides decks that help families support communication beyond the therapy room. 👉 Join today at www.kellyvess.com/sis.
