A Therapy Pathway for Frontal and Lateral Speech Errors (aka “Lisps”)

Today we’re talking about “lisps”.

But many professionals are moving away from using the term lisp because it often carries a negative or stigmatizing connotation, especially outside of clinical contexts.

Instead, we’re focusing on describing speech patterns more precisely using phonetic terms. For example:

• Frontal lisp is often described as interdental or dentalized productions of /s/ and /z/.
• Lateral lisp is often referred to as lateralized productions of /s/, /z/, and sometimes other sibilants like /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.

I’m speech-language pathologist Carrie Clark and in today’s episode of The Speech and Language Kids Podcast, I’ll going to give you a very clear Therapy Pathway that will lay out how to treat dentalized or lateralized productions of sibilants.

Therapy Pathway for Dentalized or Lateralized Productions:

Here’s the plan for how to treat these speech sounds:

1. Identify the type of lisp being used
2. Establish correct placement and airflow for one sibilant sound (usually /s/ or /z/) in isolation.
3. Expand use of that sibilant into words, phrases, sentences, and short response.
4. Expand that same placement and airflow to a new sibilant sound, repeat steps 2-3.
5. Continue this process until individual can say all sibilants correctly.
6. Generalize to everyday conversation.

Free /r/ Elicitation Pack!

Elicitation techniques and exercises to help you teach a child or teen to say the /r/ sound

Or, Get the Full Curriculum for the /r/, /s/, and “sh” Sounds

How to Establish Correct Placement and Airflow

• Find a word they can already say it in correctly
• Watch in mirror: keep tongue behind teeth
• Find “magic spot” using tactile feedback and start the sound with the tongue tip there
• Start with /t/ sound, extend it out (exploding /t/)
• Use /ts/ words
• Start with “th” and pull back
• Start with “sh” and move forward
• Start with “ee” to stabilize back/sides of tongue and then slowly raise tongue tip
• Use a straw – bite tip of straw and blow /s/ into the straw

Free /r/ Elicitation Pack!

Elicitation techniques and exercises to help you teach a child or teen to say the /r/ sound

Or, Get the Full Curriculum for the /r/, /s/, and “sh” Sounds