A lisp is a functional speech disorder. In other words, it is an articulation disorder where the sound is incorrectly said. The incorrect pronunciation becomes a habit. The origin of the lisp itself is unknown.
Typically, when your child lisps their tongue either protrudes between or touches their front teeth and the sound becomes a /th/ instead. This is known as an interdental or dentalized lisp. It is a perfectly normal developmental phase for some children until about 4 years 6 months. If it does however not disappear speech therapy is indicated.
There are two types of lisps that are not of normal development and they are called lateral or palatal lisps. They are produced when air escapes over the sides of the tongue or the tongue touches the palate. They result in slushy, slurry, wet, spitty speech. Children do not outgrow them and waiting well past 4 years 6 months is not a good idea, as the longer you wait the stronger the habit forms. Speech therapy should start immediately as they interfere with intelligibility, impact on self-image and are not sweet, funny or endearing.
#lispth/s
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