Speech Delay and Lisps
Does your child have difficulty with the sounds of his or her speech?
Does "I can run really fast" become "I can wun weally fast"?
Does “Can I keep that kitten” become “Tan I teep that titten”?
Does “Snakes and crocodiles bite” become “Nakes and cocodiles bite”?
Does "I'm turning three on my birthday" become "I'm turning free on my birfday"?
If so, your child may be having difficulty with speech production.
When children find it difficult to make themselves understood, it can be incredibly frustrating for them and some tend to withdraw from conversations. Speech delays in children have also been associated with literacy difficulties in school.
Some children present with quite a significant speech delay or disorder. This is different to just having a few sounds that they mispronounce; a speech delay can involve a Phonological Disorder that involves continual errors that are typical of younger children’s speech. One example would be the 4-year-old who cannot produce the final sounds of any words – so a sentence such as “I not catch the bus” becomes “I no ca the bu”. There are also more significant motor speech disorders such as Childhood Apraxia of Speech or Dysarthria.
Does your child have a lisp?
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A lisp is a speech pattern where a child has difficulty pronouncing certain sounds, particularly "s" and "z." There are two common types of lisps.
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Interdental Lisp. Instead of a clear "s" sound, it might sound more like a "th" as the tongue pokes between the teeth. This is the 'typical' lisp that people are familiar with and may present like this:
"He has seven lollies" becomes "He hath theven lollieth"
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Lateral Lisp. In these instances, the tongue may be behind the teeth like normal, however the air escapes out the side of the mouth rather than out the front. This can result in an /s/ or /z/ that sounds 'slushy' or 'wet'.
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Sometimes children and adults who lisp when they attempt to say /s/ and /z/ also have tongue placement problems when they try to say 'sh' as in 'shoe', 'zh' as in measure, 'ch' as in 'chair', and 'dg' as in 'badge'.​
What Sounds Should My Child Know
