You’ve heard of a lisp-but what exactly is it? A lisp is an articulation disorder where a child is having difficulty correctly producing the “s” and “z” sounds. Sometimes the “sh”, “ch” and “j” sounds may also be in error.  There are 4 main types of lisps:

• Interdental/frontal lisp: This type of lisp is characterized by a protrusion of the tongue out through the teeth- for example, saying “thwim” instead of “swim” or “thoup” for  “soup”.
• Dentalized lisp:  A dentalized lips happens when the tongue pushes up against the top teeth during production of  “s” and “z” sounds, cutting off the airflow.

Both interdental/frontal and dentalized lisps are considered developmental in nature and are typically seen in normal speech development.  In other words, the child will most likely “grow out” of it.  It is perfectly normal development for a child to produce an interdental or dentalized lisp until they are about 4.5 years old.

• Lateral lisp: This type of lisp results in a “slushy” or “spitty” sound.  A lateral lisp occurs when the tongue tip is in a similar position as when making the “l” sound but the air flow escapes out the sides of the sides of the tongue, instead of directly forward and out of the oral cavity.
• Palatal lisp: A palatal lisp occurs when the mid section of the tongue comes in contact with the soft palate.  The sound of a person with a palatal lisp attempting to produce the “s” and “z” sounds will closely mimic the production of an “h” and a “y”.

Both lateral and palatal lisps are never normal in development and most likely will require speech therapy intervention to correct.  If you feel your child is in need of a speech evaluation, be sure to contact an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist.