Lisp Therapy

There are four common forms of this speech impediment, and all of them are produced with specific vocalizing habits. They can also be treated with great effect almost every time using lisp therapy.

1. There is Interdental lisping which is caused by the tongue being pushed between both sets of teeth.

2. Then there is Dentalised where the tongue does not go past the teeth, but instead touches the upper set of teeth.

3. The third common impediment is known as Lateral. This is where air travels over the sides of the tongue, which creates a wet, spit-like lisping sound.

4. The forth and final is called the Palatal. This is where a person tries to produce speech by making contact between the palate and tongue.

All 4 are very specific, and can be treated using lisp therapy to target the problem areas.

Typically an adult or child will undergo some short sessions to correct the problems. This will involve speech pattern drills, and recognizing problem placement. For instance, a particular section of a word where the lisp will occur, may be more difficult because of where its located in the word itself (beginning, middle, end).

A lisp therapist can decide if correction should involve this approach. Often times, repetition of specific problem sounds will be used as well. Once a person has this down, then its a matter of building up from their. Syllables, words, phrases and finally complete sentences.

This is a wonderful process for two reasons.

One: It is not be-belittling or overwhelming because it is a process of connecting the dots with familiarity.

Two: The person receiving lisp therapy is actually being taught how to monitor and correct themselves. Overtime this can eliminate the problem altogether.

Speech therapy can be very expensive, and so this is a common question that may enter your mind. The answer is yes, and in fact many people have had great success with stopping a lisp all on their own.

The process simply involves paying attention to and working hard on pronouncing the way other people do. If you have a child who has the actual problem, you can work with them to help he or she get over it with the same method.

Here are some simple tips to get you started

a) You should first work on the /s/ sound which is the most basic. In the beginning this can take the most work to get off to a good start. Work on it for 10 - 20 minutes every day. Every time you can say a straight S, make note to praise yourself, and write it down each time you get it right.

b) Once you get to the point where you can say it pretty consistently, begin using practices words like See, Sue, Sum, Sock, etc.

c) The most common problem is not getting air to travel straight out the mouth when actually pronouncing the /s/ sound. Air traveling around the sides of the tongue will cause the lisp. Practice blowing air through a straw to get accustomed to the straight line hard S sound.