Lisp in a 4 year old.

I have a child who has a lisp and whilst this doesn't cause any difficulties she does have trouble with ther s's and z's.


I was told that i should seek assistnce from a speech therapist but am interested in hearing other people's views, plus can anyone recommend how i go about finding an excellent speech therapist for her.

there was a post on speech therapists a while back - do a search and you should find it. I think Kylie Platt out of Matilda was one of the more sought after ones, as she has no availability currently.


I had a lisp. It was discovered in the public school system in the US when I was 7 years old. My parents were not native speakers and didn't even notice it, but the education system in the US back then caught it. And I remember VERY distinctly what I had to do - I had to PRACTICE saying words with S's at the beginning and at the end (sit vs. grapes) every day. Within a year I was no longer in speech therapy (and happpily I do not have a lisp to this day.)


Strangely in Korea, a lisp is not considered a horrible thing. SO MANY people here have one - stars, actresses, actors, singers - and it's not considered strange. I find it SO ANNOYING to hear people with that extra "th" sound all over the place, but people don't seem to notice it at all! I mentioned it to my cousin who is bilingual and fluent in both English and Korean and she says she doesn't even hear the lisp that I find so prominent and grating. So I wonder if a lisp is a western cultural thing?


I had a few students who had a lisp = one was about your daughter's age. I am not a speech therapist but an English teacher but I tried to show my students WHERE their tongue should be when they say their "s" and to practice in the mirror saying it. I just made them practice their "s" words every day - and for the three students that I worked with, there was dramatic improvement in less than six months.


I do know that a lot of children develop lisps when the lose their front teeth - as they just lose the place where their tongue should be - so maybe trying to just informally help your child now with it may be worth it.

I actually love her lisp as it makes her unique and i find it so endearing, however i am a bit concerned when she gets older how others will react to it.

I am getting her to practise saying words with s's and z's in them but was just wondering at what age should i seek help, if at all.


And Ruth, have you ever tried getting a very active 4 year old to keep a cork in its mouth?

no personal experience but i do have a cute little cousin who used to go "twimming" instead of "swimming"...he just couldn't got his s's right but nobody worried, we just thought it was very cute!

but he's grown out of it, no speech therapy or anything...now a very articulate 11 year old.


i think the problem is more about how others will react...she might get teased in school next time, which wouldn't be too pleasant for her.


good luck!

Actually, the consequences of a lisp can be more than just getting teased in school, that in turn can effect self-esteem, which can effect many aread of personal development. If it gets worse later in life it could even effect job interviews and career options.


Now I am not trying to paint a picture of doom, just giving an example of how an extreme lisp can effect someone.


While it is 'cute' in a young baby, and many do 'grow out of it' it is something that should have attention and be 'corrected'.


Keep doing what you are doing at home, and ask in your daughter's school, pediatrician and Matilda if they can recommend anyone.


Also, did you know some lisps are hereditary? I just learned this recently. A friend's daughter has a lisp and she found out her husband's mother had one too when she was young.


I wouldn't overly worry, I would just do exactly what you are doing - work to resolve this when she is younger so it does not effect her in school and later in life.

Hi oi:

Some children to outgrow their lisp but some children keep it quite awhile, which gets very embarassing for them. I would definitely suggest you visit a speech pathologist/therapist; he or she will be honest about whether you need to do anything now or wait. Sometimes it can even be a physical (jaw alignment issue). Matilda hospital sounds like a good start! Sorry, I do not have any names for you. I know she seems adorable now with her lisp, but she won't think it's cute when she's 8 years old and kids are teasing her or she doesn't want to read out loud at school. Good luck!