LISPING IS NOT MUCH FUN BECAUSE CHILDREN WITH LISPS CAN FEEL DIFFERENT FROM THEIR PEERS

Did you know a lisp can be corrected?

Have you ever asked yourself, "How can I identify if my child has a lisp?"

Have you noticed your child spits when they talk?

Have you noticed a slushy Hsssshhhh noise when your child says s’s

Have you noticed your child’s tongue is constantly between their teeth?

Fiona Teudt identifies and treats lisps. To begin, identifying a lisp is important. There are different types of lisping. 

A lisp is a difficulty pronouncing the sounds “s” and “z”. The two most common types of lisp in children are the ‘interdental lisp’ and the ‘lateral lisp’.  An interdental lisp occurs where the tongue protrudes between the teeth while saying “s” or “z”.  A lateral lisp occurs where the tongue adopts a flatter position in the mouth and the air is directed over or down the sides of the tongue, instead of down the centre of the tongue.

From experience, this clinic finds that children under the age of 4 ½ years take longer to correct these mispronunciations and therefore parents are advised to wait until then to commence treatment. 

Advice can still be helpful for younger children with a lisp: removing dummies, stopping thumb-sucking and drinking from cups (not baby bottles) in children who are otherwise developing normally, can promote a more normal tongue movement in children over 3 ½ so that it becomes easier to learn “s” and “z”. 

Tongue and lip exercises can help young children to understand how to move the parts of their mouth, so they understand what to do when asked to put their tongue tip up to the top or down to the bottom of their mouth.