Pronouncing the letter s?

Question

can someone write a step by step guide to pronounce the letter s that a child could understand? my nine year old daughter has a lisp and i need help.. we can't get her into speech therapy

Answer 1

I am in full agreement with JC4479. Unfortunately, many school districts don't simply put children in their caseload because s/he has a lisp. Since there are many kids with language and severe articulation difficulties, the school brush the 'lisp' cases off (unless it affects the child academically).

The only advice I can give you is to continue giving your daughter the visual models/cues on how the /s/ is produced. Make sure she keep her teeth together. At times the children with lisps over-exert their tongue and purposely 'push' it out despite the cues.

As JC4479, please seek the help from a speech pathologist. Sometimes the lisp can be remediated via additional techniques, such as tactile cues on the oral surfaces. If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to contact me.

Answer 2

at nine years old her school speech pathologist should be seeing her by now.  i believe in my state, school therapists will begin treatment for misarticulation of s in 1st or 2nd grade.  have u asked the school for a speech evaluation?  u dont say why u cant get therapy?  however i work for a private practice and my guess is that if that is her only problem, most insurances wont pay for it.  some might but most wont.  

there are two types of lisps and one "frontal lisp" is generally easier to correct than a lateral lisp.  A frontal lisp is easy to detect because you can see the tongue come out between the teeth when the sound is produced.  A lateral lisp is where the tongue does not make the correct formation inside the mouth.  However, no matter what type of lisp your daughter exhibits, I feel you should see a licensed speech therapist to determine the best strategies for your daughter.  If school therapy is not an option for some reason,  you can find a therapist in your area by visiting www.asha.org