Should I worry about a lisp?

[Sanne Panne]

My 21 month old has a lisp when she says the "S". She used to be a night- and naptime dummy user but we weaned her off it last month. She started talking quite early and has a reasonable vocabulary, meaning she's had good practice with various sounds already. With the s she still folds her tongue a bit, resulting in a lisp. Her upper 4 incisors are through but only about 80% "down". Her lower central incisors are fully through, her lower lateral incisors have just come through and she doesn't have her canines yet.

Is this lisp likely to stay and require "help" later on or do many kids have a lisp at this stage that will still disappear on its own?

[Pickle]

I'll be interested in responses to this, as my 3.25 year old speaks with a very prominent lisp when making the "S" sound. Cute as a 3 year old, but not sure it's something that will be so endearing as an adult! I did mention it to the speech therapist at Babble & Squeak last year and she didn't seem to think it was something to worry about at this age, but as my daughter is now speaking without a lisp it makes his seem even more obvious.

[linzkg]

Interesting, don't have a clue, kiddies change so much all on their own but then you've got nothing to loose by seeking a professional opinion. I just wanted to add that you could contact Sunshine House on Old Kent Road, run by the NHS. My son is under their care and sees a physio and when he's older will see a speech therapist etc and I have found the services there incredible.

[Sanne Panne]

This looks encouraging but I'm not sure if the fact that the -s- needn't be fully developed until age 8 means that a toddler lisp is nothing to "worry" about (I'm not really worried, we're not talking about basic health here, just hoping we won't need a speech therapist).

[vicki08]

my son had a lisp when he stopped with the dummy but after a couple of months it stopped and one of the little girls i look after also had a lisp at the same age but you only notice it now and again i think children with a dummy tend to do this but it seems to stop after a while

[EDmummy]

I had one until I was about 8 or 9 then it disappeared. My oldest had one until his adult teeth grew. Perhaps this is why the suggestion is that you wait until about 8 years old.

[Carrie]

I had a very pronounced lisp as a child for which I had speech therapy when I was 6 - still have a slight lisp but not many people notice it. I have 2 cousins who also had a pronounced lisp when they were younger (it is a family trait) who did not have speech therapy - and still have a pronounced lisp as adults - don't really think it has held them back in life though. I doubt very much could be achieved through speech therapy at your daughters age and it may well sort itself out as she gets older - I would have thought 5 or 6 would be the earliest anything could really be achieved through speech therapy in any event.

[The Nappy Lady]

My 5, nearly 6 year old had (has?) a lisp with the 'S' which has certainly decreased over the past few years (hence the has? in brackets as I'd have to listen now to see if it is still there at all).

It used to be very noticeable, and I did speak to a speech therapist about it once who didn't seem concerned.

The Ivydale Surestart Centre has a Speech Therapist there sometimes, so you could easily pop to playgroup and see them at some point if you wanted reassurance. I will try to remember to check the notice board as to when they are there as I think it is only once a month, but if I forget, just phone Ivydale School 020 7639 2702, and ask to speak to Andreas in the Children's Centre and he will be able to tell you. If you are in ED it is quite a nice walk over Peckham Rye Park to the Centre, takes about 15 mins.

Molly

x

[littleEDfamily]

I would definitely not worry about a lisp for under 3s. Maybe even not until they're 4/5. My nephew had trouble with Ss and well as Ls (and tends to be a little hard to understand - talks too fast and doesn't enunciate properly), but just a few sessions with a professional at around 5 and a half years cured him almost immediately of the major problems. Prior to that I don't think the correction would have been so quick and easy.

I think the fact that they have a decent vocabulary and communicate happily and confidently is so much more important that the details of how they pronounce certain letters (says the new and improved me!). When our daughter was about 2.5 I freaked out that she was still saying 'f' (instead of 'th', e.g. I'll be free on my birfday'), and harangued her into learning the 'th', but she now says all her 'th's in this rather peculiar and over-emphasised way. I prob should just have left her to gradually pick it up on her own. A speech therapist friend of ours (noting how hysterical I used to be about my daughter speaking perfectly) warned me not to go overboard as kids can develop a stutter if pressured too early.

[sanity girl]

I had a lisp until I was about 7 or 8 (can't remember the exact age, my memories are vague) - I had speech therapy for it, which sorted it out. It really wasn't a big deal for me at the time. I did have a dummy until I was 3, so wonder if that was a cause?

[Sanne Panne]

Good point littleEDfamily, I don't want to pressure her at all, I'm so glad she's such a confident talker, happily mixing up the two languages she's exposed to. We're not fussed about the languages either, we know it'll fall into place... I just don't like the idea of a lisp much but will definitely wait with any kind of proactive guidance until later (if it's still necessary).

[Smiler]

My two year old struggles with sssss sounds, it sounds quite sweet. My friend who's a speech therapist says the main thing for smaller kids is that they can talk and be understood. Her little boy, who as you might expect has great language, is nearly 4 and has just packed in the dummy.

[The Nappy Lady]

Ivydale Speech & Language drop in is last Wed of every month from 9.45-11am - times from memory, but certainly mornings and playgroup is on then so can combine the visit with that.

Molly

x

[knackered cow]

Hi! My son used to say L words with a W until he was nearly 5. I took him to the walk in clinic at Townley Road and was reassured by the therapist that if he could make the L sound he should correct himself eventually. She also showed me an interesting chart of what sounds are expected at which age. She was right and the problem has fixed itself! I would really recommend dropping into this clinic for your own reassurance.

[littleEDfamily]

I kind of miss my nephew calling me a 'Siwwy Biwwy'. I'd like to see this chart so may swing by Townley.

[The Nappy Lady]

Just found this;

General Guideline for Sound Production

3-4 years: p, b, m, w, h and all vowels

5-6 years: d, t, n, g, k, f, y, ng

7-8 years: r, l, s, ch, sh, z, j, v, th, sh

from this website: http://www.earlyinterventionsupport.com/development/speech/articulation.aspx

Molly