What Causes a Lisp and How to Treat Them?

What Causes a Lisp and How to Treat Them?

 

Lisps are not uncommon.  Parents of children speaking this way or even adults who have one often wonder what causes a lisp. One typical form of speech difficulty is a lisp. When an adult or child has a lisp it can be due to a variety of reasons, including the following:

 

  • They are still in the process of learning to pronounce or articulate sounds correctly
  • There are jaw alignment problems
  • A tongue tie is having an impact (this is when the tongue is attached to the bottom of the mouth and movement is limited)
  • Tongue thrust, in which the tongue sticks out between the front teeth

 

Some of these problems, like a tongue tie, are present from birth, while others, like poor pronunciation, emerge as the kid begins to talk.

What Are the Types of Lisps?

 

Lisps fall under a variety of headings. The most frequent of these is a frontal lisp, which happens when people thrust their tongues too far forward. The second is a lateral lisp, which develops when air passes over the tongue’s sides while speaking and produces a slurred sound. When making specific sounds, people with palatal lisps, the third type, touch their tongue to the roof of their mouth. The fourth type, dental lisps, are sometimes mistaken for frontal lisps, although they happen when a person presses their tongue against their teeth rather than through them.

When to Get Help?

 

As they start to speak, many young children develop lisps of one form or another. A lisp is one of the most prevalent speech difficulties. While this may sound sweet in a young child, as they grow older and start school, kids with lisps may be made fun of or simply sound different and not all parents want their child to sound different than their peers.

 

Therefore after looking into what causes a lisp, parents may want to look into professional help if  their child is still lisping after the age of 4 1/2. However, children as young as three years old can work on lisping with a speech-language pathologist.

 

How to Treat a Lisp

 

A speech problem can be emotionally taxing. There are a number of ways to get assistance if you or someone you love is having problems with their speech or articulation. A speech-language pathologist can provide speech therapy to those who have a lisp. Treatment for this issue is also very treatable with speech therapy online.

 

A speech and language pathologist will focus on how the individual speaks, breathes, and eats. Sometimes, treating a speech issue requires a combination of treatments that all have an impact on the main issue.

 

If you are worried about what causes a lisp in your loved one, there are several options for therapy and assistance for speech lisps. Get in touch with your speech therapist for an evaluation and to start treatment for this very fixable issue.

 


Therapy Works Together – Online Speech Therapy for Children and Adults

 

We care about every child and adult achieving their speech, language and communication goals. You can start speech therapy online now with a certified speech language therapist. We’ll discuss your personal needs, develop an individualized treatment plan, and schedule affordable online therapy sessions online at your convenience.

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