S-Sound Help For Kids: Treating a Lisp

Help your child with their lisp to make the S-sound. What a lisp is, why it happens, and what you can do at home to help your child speak more clearly.

In this article we will discuss:

It's been estimated that as many as 23% of us have had a lisp - the mispronunciation of sounds like "S," or "Z" - at one time in our lives. It's possible that children struggling with a lisp will grow out of it on their own. But there are many adults who have found that their lisp has come and gone throughout their life, or suddenly reappeared as an adult, after having previously cleared up as a child. In all of these cases, a speech therapist can help, as the S sound in speech therapy is seen fairly often.

In the video attached, and in this article, I will show you how you can teach your child to make the S sound.

Some kiddos have trouble making the S sound because they have a lisp. A lisp, in simplest terms, is the sound or air distortion that occurs when producing the "Sss," "Shh," "Ch," and "Z" sounds.

It's true, there are different types of lisps, or air distortions, that may be affecting you or your child. They are frontal and lateral.

Get professional help for kids with a lisp

The three sounds - "Sss," "Zip," and "Ship" require the same tongue placement. The tip of the tongue needs to be right behind the teeth.

And the rest of the tongue needs to press against the roof of the mouth. The teeth lock together like a gate to prevent the tongue from escaping.

Yes, some kids might be missing some of their teeth and the tongue can still escape from that little hole. Teaching them the correct tongue placement for when their teeth return is still possible. In this case, just focus, keeping the tongue back and pressing against the roof of the mouth. Try out some words that start and end with these sounds to see how the child is producing them. As they say the words, have them feel out where their tongue is going.

Remember that for all three sounds, sip, zip, and ship, the tip of the tongue needs to be behind the teeth. And the

rest of the tongue is pressed against the roof of the mouth. So if your child is making part of, or one of the sounds correctly, you can carry over that skill to the other sounds.

At Better Speech, we offer online speech therapy services convenient for you and tailored to your child's individual needs. Our services are affordable and effective - get Better Speech now.

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About the Author

Svetlana Atenzon

With over 10 years of professional experience, I have been working with children and adults of all ages throughout my career. I have worked in a variety of settings such as home care, clinics, schools, and now teletherapy. I have worked with clients who had articulation disorders, language disorders, cognitive impairments, developmental delays, Autism, literacy delays, Apraxia, Dyslexia, fluency disorders, Down Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Progressive Degenerative Disorders, Aphasia, and much more. I also work with clients seeking Accent Reduction services.

When I am not helping others through my role as a licensed speech-language pathologist, I enjoy doing Yoga, listening to music, reading stories, and making art, especially when I can later incorporate those elements in my therapy.