Helping Nonverbal Language Development With Busy Books

Finding out your child is experiencing a communication or language delay can be disheartening. But with the right tools, you can give your child the best chance and opportunities to develop their verbal communication skills. Busy Books are one of these tools, with parents all over Australia thankful they took that step to help their child in their language development.

This article explores how Busy Books can help with the development of language and development skills, including for children who are non-verbal. Each book is aimed to help nurture different skills, and is recommended by a range of childhood educators and medical professionals.

Communication Versus Language Development in Children

Communication and language skills are often and easily confused. When we communicate, we use words, body language, facial expressions and other queues to relay a message. Language is specifically words, whether spoken, written or signed. 

Both communication and language development can be developed in children, even if they do fully form one or the other, or struggle with one more than the other. Busy Books can help children develop these skills, such as through the Alphabet, Numbers & Writing Skills Busy Book, which helps develop children’s alphabet, numbers and writing skills through fun activities and characters, or My Body Mindfulness, which helps children learn about body parts, senses, emotions and more by matching picture cut outs with words or parts of the body, and more.

N.B is one of our parents who uses Busy Books. Here’s what they had to say:

Giving my ASD Boy a voice. Amazing you gave my 2 and a half year old a voice he also has Asd level 2 and speech delay and GDD I never thought my son would pick up on these skills so quickly thank you for helping my son achieve his milestones.”

7 Ways Busy Books Can Help Support Nonverbal Children

1. Visual supports.

   Busy Books can help your child learn words, even before they are ready to speak, or to help develop their written skills. Every Busy Book comes with visual supports, like cut outs , which are used to help your child learn new words and skills, even if they are not yet speaking. These lessons can help them build their vocabulary, even while they’re still learning to verbally speak, or expand their written communication skills.

   The My Little Farm Printed Busy Book is a popular book amongst parents as the bright coloured food, animal, plant and other drawings help children want to get engaged with learning new words. For example, one activity has children place a picture of the baby animal next to the corresponding adult animal picture. As they place the pictures, you could say, ‘point to the calf’ or ‘point to the piglet’ to help them learn new words.

   This is what Jeanice Jones has to say about her nephew’s experience with the My Little Farm Busy Book:

Very impressed with the book I bought for my great nephew Eli, who was
recently diagnosed with ASD. He is about to start kindy next year & is non verbal
so thought this could help him get ready for school. Thanks for a great product.

2. Appealing to different interests.

   As children age, they start to form interests in different things, whether it’s animals, construction equipment (like trucks), science and more. Busy Books are themed to help appeal to different interests, helping hold childrens’ focus, even if they have a shorter attention span. This interest can encourage them to push themselves to be able to learn more, even encouraging them to learn to speak to be able to explore that interest further.

   Sonia Evans is one of our Busy Books parents who has experienced how handy these themed books can be for appealing to her son’s interests in science:

We were so excited to start using our busy book ~ Starting with Science! It is perfect for Finn, my 8yo who has recently sparked a real interest in all things science!

3. Age appropriate.

   Each Busy Book is designed with a specific age group in mind, starting from just 18 months old. They’re often recommended by speech pathologists, early childhood educators, occupational therapists and paediatric pathologists to work in conjunction with their sessions with nonverbal children. It can help take the stress out of knowing the appropriate activities for their child based on their age.

   This is what Deanna Fiedler had to say after being recommended Busy Books by her son’s speech pathologist:

I originally bought these for my son as suggested by his speech pathologist. He
absolutely loves them! Customer service was amazing. Kylee was more than
happy to answer my numerous questions and the books were sent the same day
I ordered them and arrived 2 days later.

4. Making sounds.

   Helping your child learn how to make sounds is a good first start to helping them speak and develop their communication skills. You can use Busy Books to help show your child different sounds, to mimic your child as they make sounds or to have them try to mimic you.

   Nadine Bell, one of our happy Busy Books customers, explains how her son with autism has been able to learn how to make animal sounds thanks to the My Little Farm book:

My ASD Son makes animals sounds now. Just really amazed how my son is making sounds now because of this book I never thought he could focus that long and even make out the sounds he loves the pig every time he sees the colour pink he oinks he loves matches the animals in their homes thank you again.

5. Parent and adult involvement.

   As a parent, it can be easy to feel lost with how you can help your child who is nonverbal. Busy Books give you guidance on how you can get involved, giving you the opportunity to sit and work through activities with your child. It can even help teachers or early childhood educators feel like they can provide appropriate support to students who are non-verbal.

   Amira is an early intervention centre for children with autism who has been using Busy Books to help her students:

I work at an early intervention centre for children with Autism. I purchased this busy book to use with my students in my sessions and it has been fantastic! I also love the extra set of matching icons as they do get damaged over time.

6. Social interaction.

   Learning through play can help kids stay involved, interested and engaged in their development. Busy Books give your child a range of activities and different games to explore, whether it’s naming colours, matching emotions to faces or tracing numbers and letters. You can work with your child to help them work through more difficult activities, or they can do them with friends or siblings to help them improve their social skills, which can be important for helping nonverbal children feel more confident in their communication skills.

   Keisha De Nardis is one parent who has experienced the benefits of Busy Books and helping her child get engaged in his learning:

Since these arrived my son has asked for them everyday. He has a love for learning and starts preschool next year so these are perfect to help him begin.

7. Self-guided discovery.

   Giving your child space can really help with their language journey. Depending on their age and development, Busy Books can be done on their own, allowing them to explore words at their own pace, even trying to say words without pressure. You can still use positive reinforcement, asking questions about what they learned to see where they may be progressing verbally.

   Zaynab Atik has been using Busy Books with their kids to help them explore together and alone:

To be honest these are great learning books for my children. It gets then thinking and problem solving alone. It gives the sense of their own achievement. I will definitely be ordering more. Thank you.

Frequently Asked Questions About Nonverbal Children

What causes a child to be nonverbal?

There are many reasons and conditions a child may be nonverbal. Some of the most common conditions that can cause speech and language delays in children include:

• Nonverbal autism or minimally verbal autism, which impacts a child’s verbal speech interactions and communication development.
• Cerebral palsy, which is a physical disability that can affect movement and speech.
• Verbal dyspraxia, where children cannot control their mouth, tongue or jaw movements to allow them to speak.
• Learning disabilities and delays.
• Nonverbal learning disorders, where a neurological condition is making it hard for your child to understand information.
• Phonological disorders, where children find it difficult to make sounds.
• Selective mutism, which is an anxiety disorder preventing children from speaking.

It’s important to speak with your doctor if you believe your child is experiencing a language or communication delay.

At what age is a child considered nonverbal?

Generally, if a child is not starting to speak by the age of four, they will be considered non-verbal. For your child to be considered clinically nonverbal, they will not have made any progression in their verbal communication. As they age and with work on developing their verbal communication, they may be able to learn how to speak.