Gestalt language processing IEP goals describe what a student who learns language in chunks will do on their AAC device at their current natural language acquisition stage. Strong goals match the NLA stage the student is in with the specific AAC behavior they are growing into, whether that is recognizing whole gestalts on the device, mitigating known chunks, or using single words to build original messages. This guide is a goal bank for school-based and clinical speech-language pathologists writing or revising IEP goals for gestalt language processors who use the QuickTalker Freestyle™ speech device or a similar high-tech AAC system. If gestalt language processing is newer to you as a framework, the overview of how high-tech AAC empowers gestalt language processors is a good place to start before you adapt these goals.
Key Takeaways
- A gestalt language processing IEP goal pairs an NLA stage with the AAC behavior to support at that stage: whole gestalts at Stage 1, mitigations at Stage 2, single words and recombinations at Stage 3, and original combinations from Stage 4 onward.
- Goals work best when they describe what the student will demonstrate on the device. Echolalia and scripts already count as communication, so the goal adds to the student’s repertoire.
- Aided language modeling on the AAC device runs through every stage. What an SLP models shapes what the student takes up next.
- Useful baseline data captures both the words on the device and the communication function behind them (request, comment, protest, self-talk).
- Accommodations like phrase-based pages, partner modeling, and at least 10 seconds of wait time help the goals land in the classroom.
- An insurance-funded device like the QuickTalker Freestyle travels with the student across school, home, and summer, so the gestalt language plan stays in one place.
What Are NLA Stages and How Do They Shape AAC Goals?
The natural language acquisition framework, originally drawn from Ann Peters’ research and developed for clinical practice by SLPs working with gestalt processors, describes six stages a gestalt language processor moves through on the path from whole chunks to original sentence-level language. Gestalt language processing is common among Autistic children and other neurodivergent learners. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association notes that SLPs can consider gestalt language acquisition theory and the communicative functions of echolalia in assessment and intervention. ASHA’s practice portal on augmentative and alternative communication outlines the SLP’s role in AAC assessment, treatment, and communication-partner training. Each NLA stage points to a different AAC behavior to support.
- Stage 1 – Whole gestalts: The student communicates with full chunks, often from familiar songs, shows, or routines. On AAC, the device offers those gestalts as whole phrases.
- Stage 2 – Mitigations: The student mixes and trims known chunks. On AAC, mitigation looks like combining parts of two phrase buttons or modifying one with a known word.
- Stage 3 – Single words and recombinations: The student isolates single words from former gestalts. On AAC, the focus shifts toward a core vocabulary page that supports flexible word combinations.
- Stage 4 – Original combinations: The student combines isolated words into novel two- and three-word utterances. AAC modeling supports those combinations from a stable vocabulary layout.
- Stage 5 – Beginning sentence grammar: The student adds grammar markers, articles, and verb inflections to their original utterances on the device.
- Stage 6 – Complete sentence grammar: The student uses grammatically complete novel sentences on AAC with the same flexibility a peer who learns language analytically would.
For the assessment side of this work (language sample collection and NLA scoring), see the guide to assessing gestalt language processors.
What Makes a Strong AAC Goal for a Gestalt Language Processor?
A strong gestalt language processing AAC goal shares four parts: the NLA stage the student is in, the AAC behavior to support, a measurable criterion, and the contexts where the team will see it. The behavior is what the student demonstrates on the device, observable and countable. The criterion is data the team can collect without changing how the student communicates. The contexts spread the behavior across activities and partners so the goal has real classroom traction. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders describes AAC devices as tools that help people with communication disorders express themselves, which is the foundation these goals rest on.
A few traits to look for in your goal language:
- Behavior is observable on the device. Verbs like “activate,” “select,” or “combine” describe what the team can see and document.
- Stage matches the student. A Stage 2 goal in front of a Stage 1 student won’t reflect the student’s current strengths. Anchor the goal to where the student is today.
- Echolalia is honored as communication. Goals describe the AAC behaviors the student will add. Scripts are communication in their own right.
- AAC goals can stand on their own. A goal can describe what the student demonstrates on the device without requiring simultaneous spoken speech as a part of the criterion. If a student also vocalizes, that’s wonderful, but the goal doesn’t hinge on it. The student’s voice is their voice.
For a broader look at structuring AAC IEP goals, accommodations, and service-delivery minutes together, the AAC IEP goals and service delivery guide covers the full document structure.
Stage 1 IEP Goals: Whole Gestalts on AAC
A Stage 1 goal supports the student’s use of whole-phrase gestalts on the AAC device. The student is communicating with chunks, and the device offers chunks back.
Present-level language to consider:
- “Student communicates primarily in whole gestalts drawn from familiar routines, songs, and media. On their AAC device, [Student] currently activates whole-phrase buttons that match these gestalts during [routine X] with [partner Y].”
Example goals:
- Goal A: Given access to their AAC device with familiar phrase buttons across at least four routines (mealtime, transitions, play, greetings), [Student] will activate a whole-phrase gestalt to communicate during the routine on three out of five opportunities across two consecutive sessions, as measured by partner data collection (obtain family and school permissions for any session recording).
- Goal B: During shared book reading, [Student] will activate a whole-phrase button to comment or request on at least four opportunities per session across three sessions, with the SLP or partner modeling the same phrase on the device.
What baseline looks like: A list of the gestalts the student uses (spoken and on the device), the routines where each gestalt shows up, and the average frequency per session.
Modeling note: Aided language modeling stays the work. Model the same gestalts the student uses on the device, every session, every partner. The AAC prompting hierarchy guide walks through how partner-led modeling looks at this stage.
Stage 2 IEP Goals: Mitigated Gestalts
A Stage 2 goal supports the student’s growing flexibility with chunks: mixing, trimming, and combining gestalts on the device.
Present-level language to consider:
- “On the AAC device, [Student] has begun to mitigate familiar gestalts by combining parts of two known phrases or by modifying a phrase with a known single word. Mitigations are most consistent during [activity X].”
Example goals:
- Goal A: Across structured and unstructured classroom activities, [Student] will produce a mitigated gestalt on their AAC device (combining two parts of known phrases or modifying a phrase with a single word) on three opportunities per session across four sessions.
- Goal B: During small-group instruction, [Student] will use their AAC device to combine a known phrase with a new word from their core page on at least two opportunities across three consecutive sessions.
What baseline looks like: A short collection of the student’s current mitigations on the device, the gestalts they are built from, and the contexts where mitigations appear most often.
Modeling note: This is the stage where the SLP’s modeling shifts toward showing how chunks can flex. Models like activating “I want \[snack]” and then activating “I want \[the other thing]” using the same chunk structure give the student a visible pattern to work from.
Stage 3 IEP Goals: Single Words and Recombinations
A Stage 3 goal supports the student’s use of isolated single words on the device, often pulled from gestalts that have started to break apart.
Present-level language to consider:
- “On the AAC device, [Student] is using single words from their core vocabulary page to communicate alongside their gestalt language. [Student] independently activates [X] core words across [Y] activities.”
Example goals:
- Goal A: During functional classroom activities, [Student] will use their AAC device to activate at least one isolated core word (other than as part of a gestalt phrase) to communicate a request, comment, or protest on five opportunities per session across four sessions.
- Goal B: Given a core vocabulary page on their AAC device, [Student] will combine two isolated core words to communicate during play and meal routines on three opportunities per session across three sessions.
What baseline looks like: A core-word inventory listing which single words the student activates independently, in what context, and the rate of single-word use versus whole gestalts.
Modeling note: Modeling at this stage uses single core words paired with the activity, repeated across partners, much like the modeling many SLPs are familiar with for analytic language learners. The student is learning how a small set of flexible words can do a lot. The AAC customization guide for gestalt language learners covers how the device page can hold both phrase buttons and a strong core page together.
Stage 4 IEP Goals: Beginning Original Combinations
A Stage 4 goal supports the student’s first novel two- and three-word combinations on the AAC device, separate from previously memorized gestalts.
Present-level language to consider:
- “On the AAC device, [Student] is producing original two- and three-word combinations from their core vocabulary, separate from previously memorized gestalts. Combinations include [examples].”
Example goals:
- Goal A: Across school routines (meals, play, academic instruction, transitions), [Student] will produce at least one novel two-word combination on their AAC device per routine on four out of five days across two weeks.
- Goal B: During structured activities, [Student] will produce a three-word original combination on their AAC device to communicate a request, comment, or describe an action on at least three opportunities per session across three sessions.
What baseline looks like: A sample of original combinations the student is already producing, along with which combinations are reliable and which are emerging.
Modeling note: Modeling now matches the student’s new flexibility. Show two- and three-word combinations across many activities and partners. The classroom team’s modeling matters as much as the SLP’s at this stage.
Stage 5 IEP Goals: Beginning Sentence Grammar
A Stage 5 goal supports the student’s growth from original word combinations into utterances with beginning grammar markers — articles, verb endings, plurals, and similar features.
Present-level language to consider:
- “On the AAC device, [Student] is producing two- and three-word original combinations and has begun to include grammar markers such as [examples]. Markers appear most consistently during [activity X].”
Example goals:
- Goal A: During academic and social routines, [Student] will produce a novel utterance on their AAC device that includes a grammar marker (article, verb ending, plural marker) on four opportunities per session across three sessions.
- Goal B: Given a core vocabulary page on their AAC device, [Student] will combine a word with a corresponding grammar marker (such as a verb with its ending, or a noun with its article) during functional activities on three opportunities per session across three sessions.
What baseline looks like: A language sample on the device showing current original combinations along with which grammar markers are emerging and how often each appears.
Modeling note: Modeling at Stage 5 focuses on the next grammar feature the student is close to producing on their own. If the student already produces “want apple,” the model becomes “want an apple” on the device.
Stage 6 IEP Goals: Complete Sentence Grammar
A Stage 6 goal supports the student’s use of grammatically complete novel sentences on the AAC device — subject, verb, and the structures around them.
Present-level language to consider:
- “On the AAC device, [Student] is producing novel multi-word utterances with multiple grammar features present. Sentence structures include [examples].”
Example goals:
- Goal A: Across school settings and partners, [Student] will produce a complete sentence on their AAC device (subject + verb + object or complement) to communicate a request, comment, or response on five opportunities per session across two weeks.
- Goal B: During structured and unstructured activities, [Student] will produce a novel sentence on their AAC device that includes two or more grammar features (such as subject + verb + tense marker) on four opportunities per session across three sessions.
What baseline looks like: A language sample on the device showing current sentence structures, grammar features present, and the variety of communication functions across these sentences.
Modeling note: Modeling at Stage 6 layers grammar features within the student’s own emerging patterns: adding a tense marker the student is close to using, modeling a question form, or expanding a sentence the student produces from three words to four.
How Do You Collect Baseline Data for GLP Goals on AAC?
Useful baseline data for a gestalt language processing AAC goal captures three things: what the student says on the device, what stage their language is in, and what each utterance is doing functionally. The first piece is observable. The second comes from an NLA-informed language sample. The third comes from context. Was the utterance a request, a comment, a protest, self-talk, or a script as a source of comfort?
A few habits that keep baseline data useful:
- Sample what the student activates on the device. Capture the utterance as it appears on the screen. If a session recording supports the analysis, secure family and school permissions first.
- Tag function alongside form. A whole gestalt that functions as a request is different data than the same gestalt as self-talk.
- Look across partners. A single SLP’s data is a fraction of the student’s day. A short data sheet shared with families and classroom staff fills in the rest of the picture.
For the broader practice of tracking AAC progress, the AAC data collection and progress monitoring guide covers data sheets and progress monitoring across goal types. For the assessment side specifically (how to score a gestalt language sample), see the assessment guide for gestalt language processors.
AAC Accommodations That Pair With GLP Goals
Strong AAC accommodations for a gestalt language processor address the device, the partners, and the time. A few examples that travel well across IEP teams:
- Phrase-based page in addition to a core page: The device’s vocabulary holds the gestalts the student already uses while a core page supports the words emerging from those gestalts.
- Aided language modeling by all partners: Classroom staff, family, and related-service providers model on the device at the student’s current stage.
- Wait time of at least 10 seconds: Time for the student to plan, navigate, and produce, with partners holding the silence open.
- Acceptance of gestalts as communication: The IEP language documents that scripted phrases count as communication and support participation.
- Device access across the day: The device travels with the student from speech sessions to classroom to lunch to recess.
For more on writing AAC accommodations and service-delivery minutes into the IEP document, the AAC IEP goals and service delivery guide covers the full document structure.
Sharing These Goals With Families
A goal that lives only on the document does less work than a goal a family can describe back to you. A short conversation at the team meeting (what the goal is, what the family will see on the device, and what each NLA stage looks like in everyday life) keeps families and the school team aligned. The empowering AAC users in IEP decisions guide covers how the AAC user themselves can be part of this conversation, depending on age and stage.
Families often appreciate one practical takeaway: gestalt language is communication. The IEP adds the device-based behaviors that grow alongside the student’s natural processing.
Putting the Goal Bank to Work
The most useful goal on an IEP is the one that matches where the student is today. If a new student is on your caseload with a gestalt processing pattern and an AAC device, start with a short language sample on the device, identify the NLA stage, and pick one stage-aligned goal that the team can confidently support. If the device the student arrived with does not yet have a phrase-based page or does not travel home with the student, that is a separate conversation worth having with the family. The AAC device ownership guide for SLPs covers what changes when the device is family-owned versus school-issued.
If you are an SLP working through a gestalt language processor’s evaluation, a Benefit Check is an early step that confirms what the family’s insurance covers, with no commitment required. For hands-on time with the QuickTalker Freestyle, the ableEXPERIENCE program provides a device for a hands-on experience, delivered in as little as two business days with no commitment required. You can also learn more about how to get started with AAC for your student.
