Can Busy Boards Help Toddlers with Speech Delay? Here’s What I've learned as a mom of three

As a mom of three, I know the challenges that come with raising children with speech delays—especially in a bilingual household. Both my eldest and middle child experienced delayed speech development, and by age three, we decided to work with a speech therapist to support them. With my youngest son, I wanted to try something a bit different.

When he turned two, I was already aware of the common recommendation to wait until age three before starting formal speech therapy. But as the creator of My First Busy Board, I was eager to try out my own tool at home to support his speech and language development. Through this journey, I’ve seen how engaging with a busy board can support language skills in ways that feel like play, not therapy. Here’s how busy boards, including My First Busy Board, can make a real difference for children with speech delays.

Encouraging Communication Through Interactive Play

One of the most powerful benefits of busy boards is that they encourage natural, interactive play. For toddlers with speech delays, playtime activities can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially if they’re already facing challenges around communication. Busy boards are packed with activities that don’t require specific instructions, allowing children to engage at their own pace and in a low-pressure way.

Speech & Language Therapist Shelley Shetrit has observed the benefits firsthand: “My First Busy Board is a fantastic tool to develop both receptive and expressive language skills. It is an excellent resource for teaching understanding and use of early concepts. I would highly recommend this for use in therapy, school, and home settings.”

With activities like matching shapes and exploring textures, busy boards provide natural opportunities for children to communicate—verbally or non-verbally—helping them feel more comfortable expressing themselves. This natural, low-stress approach is a great foundation for language development.

Building Vocabulary with Everyday Objects

Busy boards feature familiar, everyday items like zippers, buttons, and buckles, making them perfect for reinforcing vocabulary. When my little one interacts with these items, I introduce words for each action—like “zip,” “button,” or “pull.” This way, he’s hearing words in context, which builds both receptive (understanding) and expressive (speaking) vocabulary.

By naming objects and actions during play, caregivers can create a vocabulary-rich experience that feels more like a game than a lesson. It’s a valuable approach I’ve found effective with my own children, especially when they’re still too young for formal speech therapy.

Supporting Focus and Attention—Essential for Language Development

Children with speech delays sometimes face challenges with focus and attention, skills that are essential for processing language. Busy boards encourage children to concentrate on small tasks like lacing, zipping, or sorting shapes. Over time, I’ve seen how these moments of focused play have improved my own children’s attention spans, enabling them to listen better and process language more effectively.

With busy boards, kids are drawn into hands-on play, building focus in a way that feels fun and rewarding. For parents of toddlers with speech delays, helping them develop this focus can be just as important as the language practice itself.

Enhancing Fine Motor Skills Linked to Speech Development

Busy boards have another important benefit: they support fine motor development, which is closely linked to language skills. Activities like buttoning, tying, and clasping require precision and coordination, which improves fine motor control. Fine motor development and language skills both rely on similar neurological pathways, so when children develop their dexterity, they’re also building brain functions that contribute to speech and language.

Occupational Therapist Naomi Rouch points out that My First Busy Board supports more than just motor skills: “Busy boards, such as My first Busy Board, are an excellent resource that significantly enriches children's developmental journey. Its contribution to the development of fine motor skills, cognitive abilities, sensory processing, and particularly executive functions, makes it a valuable tool in the toolkit of occupational therapists, educators, and parents alike.”

Busy boards are more than just toys; they’re comprehensive tools that can enhance fine motor abilities and, indirectly, language skills—essential building blocks for any child’s development.

Promoting Screen-Free Communication and Play

With all the demands of daily life, it’s easy to rely on screens to keep children entertained. But for toddlers with speech delays, screen-free, hands-on activities are essential for their language development. Busy boards provide an excellent alternative, encouraging real-world interaction and communication in a way that screens simply can’t.

For parents looking to foster language skills without screen time, busy boards create a setting for both independent play and caregiver-child interaction. This hands-on, engaging approach makes language learning accessible and fun.

A Natural Tool for Speech Development

While professional speech therapy was invaluable for my older children, busy boards became a wonderful tool I could use at home to support my youngest’s speech development. My First Busy Board was designed with these experiences in mind, combining sensory, motor, and language-building activities into one engaging tool. For parents supporting a child’s language journey at home, busy boards offer a screen-free, hands-on way to practice communication and vocabulary in a low-pressure setting.

Busy boards, like My First Busy Board, are much more than toys; they’re tools that empower parents and professionals alike to help children find their voices in a natural, playful way. For parents who want to encourage speech development while creating screen-free memories, busy boards can be a valuable resource on their child’s language journey.

*The author is a mom of three and the creator of My First Busy Board