Living life with a lisp

ByLondon Speech and Feeding
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You may be questioning ‘will my child grow out of having a lisp?’ There are so many myths out there that it’s sometimes difficult to find your way out of a complex maze of information.

The good news: lisps can be successfully treated by a Speech and Language Therapist and the earlier it’s resolved, the better. We know from the evidence base that some children’s lisps will resolve and, as always, it is completely age appropriate to have this speech pattern up until aged 4 ½.

As with any speech and language targets your child will need to be motivated to practise their newly acquired techniques, at home and in other settings. They will eventually be able to generalise this skill, but it takes lots of practice. So, think carefully about if your child is ready and motivated before commencing Speech and Language Therapy.

There are essentially two ways in which your child has acquired a lisp. It’s key here to mention that parents have no blame in this.

  1. They’ve mis-learned it and now incorrect production has become a habit
  2. Children have difficulties organising the sounds to make a clear production

You may be surprised to realise that there are different types of lisps. But all the techniques will be the same.

  1. Interdental lisp

When your child pushes their tongue too far forward, they will make a /th/ sound instead of /s/ and /z/

  1. Dental lisp

This is where your child’s tongue pushes against their teeth

  1. Lateral lisp

Air comes over the top of the tongue and down the sides

  1. Palatal lisp

Your palate is the roof of your child’s mouth. Sometimes they will touch their palate when making certain sounds (e.g., /s/ and /z/)

It’s useful for you to know what type of lisp your child has because you can then support them to make the correct production. You’ll be able to talk about where in the mouth their tongue is and where it needs to be to produce a clear sound. Your Speech and Language Therapist will be able to help you with this.

Top therapy tips for lisps

  1. Awareness is key. Does your child know where their tongue and teeth are (i.e., are they behind their teeth)? Do they notice the air escaping? Use a mirror so that your child can see not only themselves but also you in the mirror.
  2. Repetition! As with most therapeutic intervention, practice makes perfect. So little and often is key!
  3. Make sessions fun, perhaps around your child’s interests or allow them to drink from a straw
  4. Comment on how the sound is produced (e.g., /z/ is like a bee, /s/ is like a snake)
  5. Use tactile cues. Your child’s vocal folds vibrate when they produce a sound like /z/ but not with /s/. You could use the words ‘loud’ and ‘quiet’ to describe this.
  6. Start with a /t/ sound and gradually elongate the sound to an /s/

Having a lisp may not be problematic for some, but for other children, it can have a significant impact on their emotional wellbeing. Intervening at an early age can prevent this from happening. We always advocate for early intervention!

Contact Sonja for support on resolving your child’s lisp.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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    How can we support babbling and early speech development? SLT tricks and tips

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    My baby isn’t babbling and developing speech – what can I do to support?

    While every baby develops at their own pace, if your child isn’t babbling by nine months, it’s worth seeking help from an Early Intervention Health Professional, such as a doctor and a speech therapist. Don’t panic! There are many reasons for delayed babbling, and early intervention is key.

    In the meantime, it is highly recommended that we talk, sing, and read to our baby often. Exaggerate sounds and expressions, and respond to their coos and smiles. This playful interaction helps stimulate their communication skills.

    Below are some tips and tricks from my experience of working with babies and toddlers who need a little bit of help and support to develop.

    The benefits of imitating your baby

    Copying your baby’s sounds and gestures isn’t just silly fun, it’s a powerful learning tool! By mimicking their babbles and actions, you activate “mirror neurons” in their brain that help them connect sounds with meaning. This playful back-and-forth teaches turn-taking, a foundation for conversation. Plus, it encourages them to copy you, building their own language skills and social interaction abilities.

    Image by freepik

    This is a nice clip on youtube showing how copying/imitating your baby looks like:

    Here are some fun ways to imitate your baby:

    • Matchmaker: Grab two of the same, or two similar toys your child loves, like rainmakers or shakers. Give one to your baby and keep the other for yourself. When your child plays with his/her toy, mirror his/her actions with yours! This creates a fun, interactive game.
    • Face Time: Get down to your baby’s level, sitting opposite him/her on the floor or kneeling. This makes eye contact easy and encourages him/her to look at you during your playful imitation.
    • Be the Funniest You: Go all out with silly faces, exaggerated sounds, and big gestures. The goal is to capture your baby’s attention and make you irresistible to watch. This playful energy encourages him/her to interact and potentially imitate you back!

    By incorporating these tips, you can turn imitation into a fun and engaging way to boost your baby’s communication skills. I have seen this happen numerous times over the past decades. It is very powerful, go ahead and try it! You cannot be silly and goofy enough!

    Great toy ideas:

    Steel Tongue Drum
    Baby Rainbow Rattle toys
    Organza Veil Fabric good for hide and seek
    Light up magic ball toy wand
    The Glowhouse flashing swivel fan
    Mini portable hand held body massager
    Hape Beaded Raindrops
    Bubbles – always handy keep in every room
    Montessori Mirror
    Antic Duck Peekaboo Knob Puzzle Suction Cup Spinner toys

    Did you know that speech and language development starts with how we talk to our babies?

    Adults naturally use a special way of speaking called motherese. It involves a higher pitch, slower pace, and exaggerated sounds compared to regular conversation. Sentences are simpler, with shorter words and repetition. This grabs babies’ attention, helps them distinguish sounds, and reinforces word meaning.

    Imitation is a key part of motherese. We wait for our baby to make a sound or gesture, then playfully imitate it with exaggeration. Babies notice this right away and often respond with more vocalisations, creating a mini conversation. This back-and-forth teaches turn-taking, a foundation for future conversations.

    By responding warmly and engaging in these playful interactions, we encourage our babies to keep exploring the world of communication. Talking, singing, reading and, of course, imitating, these simple actions can have a big impact on a baby’s language development.

    Once your conversation is underway then try and keep it going for as long as possible. It’s a beautiful dance of turn-taking, even without words!

    A last word on oxytocin

    There’s evidence suggesting early non-verbal communication with your baby can increase a mother’s oxytocin levels, often called the ‘love hormone’. This hormone plays a key role in bonding and social connection. Positive interactions, touch, and stress reduction all contribute to oxytocin release, strengthening the mother–baby bond.

    For parents of babies with extra needs

    The stress of caring for a child with medical needs or developmental delays can be difficult. Stress can lower oxytocin levels, creating a cycle of sadness for both parent and child.

    Breaking the cycle:

    1. Knowledge is Power: Understanding the importance of communication can empower parents.
    2. Seek Support: Speech therapists and other healthcare professionals can provide valuable guidance on communication strategies.
    3. Start Small, Celebrate Big: Even small interactions can boost oxytocin. Focus on playful imitation and positive reinforcement. Remember, friends, family and healthcare professionals are there to encourage you.

    This approach can help reverse the negative cycle and create a more positive and connected relationship between parent and child.

    I hope this is helpful! Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

    Kind regards

    Sonja McGeachie

    Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist

    Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice

    The London Speech and Feeding Practice

    Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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    Why auditory memory matters (especially for little ones!)

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding
    Why auditory memory matters (especially for little ones!)

    Have you ever stopped to think about how we learn to speak, understand, and communicate effectively? It’s a complex dance of various cognitive skills, and one often overlooked but absolutely crucial player in this orchestra is auditory memory. It’s not just about remembering sounds. It’s about remembering sequences of sounds, which is fundamental to language development.

    What exactly is auditory memory?

    At its core, auditory memory is our ability to take in, process, store, and recall information that we hear. Think of it as your brain’s internal recording studio. When someone speaks to you, your auditory memory is busy at work, capturing the individual sounds, the order in which they appear, and the rhythm and intonation of the words. This isn’t just for long-term recall; it’s also vital for working auditory memory, which allows us to hold onto a small amount of auditory information for a short period, just long enough to make sense of it.

    For speech and language, auditory memory is essential for:

    • Understanding spoken language: To comprehend a sentence, we need to remember the beginning of the sentence by the time we hear the end.
    • Following instructions: Remembering a sequence of commands relies heavily on auditory memory.
    • Learning new words: We hear a word, remember its sound, and connect it to its meaning.
    • Developing phonological awareness: This is the ability to recognise and manipulate the sounds in spoken language, a critical precursor to reading. Auditory memory helps children distinguish between similar-sounding words (e.g., ‘cat’ vs. ‘bat’) and segment words into individual sounds.
    • Producing clear speech: To articulate words correctly, we need to recall the precise sequence of sounds that make up that word.
    • Developing conversational skills: Remembering what was just said helps us formulate appropriate responses.

    When auditory memory falls short: The impact on speech

    When auditory memory is poor, particularly in young children, the ripple effects on speech and language development can be significant. Children might struggle with:

    • Following multi-step directions: ‘Put on your shoes, get your coat, and meet me at the door’ can become an overwhelming jumble of sounds.
    • Learning new vocabulary: They might hear a new word repeatedly but struggle to retain its sound pattern, making it difficult to recognise or use later.
    • Understanding stories or conversations: Missing key details or losing the thread of a narrative because they can’t hold enough information in their working memory.
    • Developing phonological skills: Difficulty with rhyming, identifying initial sounds in words, or blending sounds together to form words, which can impact early literacy.
    • Speech production: They might mispronounce words, omit sounds, or struggle with the correct sequencing of sounds within words.
    • Social communication: Difficulty participating in group discussions, remembering names, or recalling what their peers have said.
    • Academic performance: Auditory memory challenges can impact a child’s ability to learn in a classroom setting, where much of the instruction is delivered verbally.

    It’s important to note that poor auditory memory isn’t a sign of low intelligence, but rather a specific processing challenge that can be addressed with targeted support.

    Nurturing auditory memory in under 5s: Preparing for schooling

    The good news is that auditory memory is a skill that can be strengthened and developed, especially during the crucial early years. For children under five, laying a strong foundation in auditory memory is an invaluable gift as they prepare for the demands of formal schooling. Here’s what we can do to help:

    1. Read aloud regularly: This is perhaps one of the most powerful tools. As you read, encourage your child to listen for specific words, predict what happens next, and retell parts of the story. Vary your voice, use different intonations, and pause to emphasise key words.
    2. Play auditory memory games:
      • ‘Simon says’: This classic game is fantastic for following multi-step instructions. Start with one command and gradually increase the number.
      • ‘I Spy’ with sounds: Instead of colours, describe sounds. ‘I spy with my little ear something that goes “moo”.’
      • Rhyming games: Sing rhyming songs, read rhyming books, and encourage your child to come up with words that rhyme.
      • Sound matching: Use everyday objects to make sounds (e.g., shaking keys, tapping a spoon) and have your child identify or match them.
      • ‘Memory chain’: Start a sentence and have your child add to it, remembering everything that came before: ‘I went to the market and bought an apple.’ ‘I went to the market and bought an apple and a banana.’
    3. Sing songs and nursery rhymes: Repetitive songs and nursery rhymes are excellent for developing auditory memory, rhythm, and phonological awareness. The predictable patterns help children anticipate and remember sequences of sounds and words.
    4. Give multi-step instructions (and praise!): Start with two-step instructions and gradually increase the complexity as your child’s skills improve. Always give positive reinforcement when they succeed. ‘Please pick up the red block and put it in the box.’
    5. Engage in active listening: Model good listening skills yourself. When your child is speaking, give them your full attention. Ask clarifying questions to encourage them to elaborate and organise their thoughts.
    6. Reduce background noise: A quiet environment makes it easier for young children to focus on auditory information. Minimise distractions like TV or loud music during activities that require listening.
    7. Use visual cues: While we’re focusing on auditory memory, sometimes pairing auditory information with visual cues can be helpful, especially initially. For example, when giving instructions, demonstrate the action as you say it.
    8. Be patient and consistent: Developing auditory memory takes time and consistent practice. Celebrate small victories and create a playful, supportive environment for learning.

    By actively engaging in these strategies, we can empower our youngest learners to build robust auditory memory skills, setting them up for success not only in speech and language development but also in their overall academic journey. It’s an investment that truly pays dividends in their future communication and learning abilities.

    Any comments or if you need help and support with your child’s speech please do not hesitate to get in touch with me: simply fill out the contact form here on the website. I endeavour to reply within 48 hours.

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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    Ten games to support communication in primary school aged children

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    When parents visit me with their child, their stress is palpable. Often parents don’t relish or even expect to be asked to practise strategies at home with their child between sessions. Let alone to practise whilst on holiday. I understand that you don’t necessarily want anything extra added to your daily ‘to do’ lists. This is why we try our best to incorporate all speech and language therapy practice into children’s daily activities.

    For example:

    1. during bath time;
    2. mealtimes;
    3. getting ready for bedtime;
    4. story time
    5. yes, playtime!

    These are activities that all parents will engage with anyway, so it seems to make sense to incorporate both. This is to avoid adding extra pressure on parents’ already stressful and time-poor daily lives. I am hoping my blog will come in handy, especially for the summer holidays.

    On holiday you are unlikely to have your usual games and toys with you – so here is a nice little list of things you can use instead of traditional games and toys:

    If you can think of any other alternatives on holiday and would like to tell me about them, I would love to see your comments below. We can never have too many holiday games!!

    If you are at home over the summer and you do have some games in the cupboard you might want to dust these ones down or buy one or two new ones (if you want to).

    Most games have multiple uses, and it’s always best to adapt a game to match your child’s interests and what motivates them.

    So let’s start…

    1. Pop up pirate: pop a sword into the barrel and watch the pirate pop up randomly. Practise social skills, speech sounds, expressive language (e.g., put a sword on a picture, say the word/sentence then pick up the sword and push it into the barrel).
    2. Word games such as ‘ISpy’, ‘I went to the shop and I bought…’, ‘describe a person and guess who they are’: perfect for when you’re on the move, whether travelling or walking. You can play this anywhere and still support speech, language and communication. You could play ISpy using your child’s special sound, or ‘I went to the shop and bought all things beginning with [insert special sound here]’.
    3. Shopping list: Orchard game is a game to practise categorising. We explain the analogy of the brain being like a filing cabinet. If information is all in the correct place, it’s easier to find, retrieve and use. You can also practise specific speech sounds in this activity. You could also put the words in a sentence to add more of an expressive language element.
    4. Wiggly worms: this Orchard game is all about phonological (awareness of sounds) awareness. Matching a letter with the word. You can also practise the sounds in the words (e.g, g-o-l-d = gold; m-a-ke = make). Talk about the elements, e.g., ‘g-o-l-d’ has 4 sounds, 1 syllable; ‘m-a-ke has 3 sounds, one syllable. You can talk about what words rhyme with the different words and what makes a rhyming word (i.e., the middle and end sounds remain the same).
    5. Sound detectives: this Orchard game allows children to identify sounds. It also has an app (if your child prefers a tech-way of learning). Children identify the sound then they can add the picture card to their path and become closer to being a successful detective. This game can also support memory skills.
    6. Conversation cubes: throw the dice and start building a story. You can also create and use ‘colourful semantics’ sentence strips to support expressive (spoken) language as support to build the narrative.
    7. Think words: ‘name it, press it, pass it’. A great game to expand word knowledge. You can talk about the words at the end of each round exploring semantic (meanings) and phonemic (sounds) links. Your child can also develop social skills (such as attention, listening and turn-taking).
    8. Poo bingo: this is perfectly disgusting but equally fun for kids of about 3.5 years plus – if your child’s target is to practise /p/ sound this is the one for you. You can also learn all about the different animal’s poo, which I am sure you have always wanted to do!! The more we know about a word, the easier it is to store, retrieve and use. Yes, even talking about poo can help!! Also, it’s great for our visual learners.
    9. Simon says: a game that can be played indoors or outdoors. Parents can take turns being “Simon” and give various commands that your child must follow. This means that your child can practise their receptive (understanding of) language as well as their expressive language, speech sounds and social skills (such as turn-taking and initiating).
    10. Ker-plunk: this is perfect for practising your child’s special sound. Repetition is very important, but also can be monotonous, so finding a game that they enjoy is vital. Take turns to pull out a stick. Next, your child can either say their special sound or word (depending on what stage they are at) or hear a good model from other players.

    Do you still have questions? Contact Sonja for support.

    Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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  • Help! My child has a lisp. What can we do about it?

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    What is a LISP?

    There are different types of LISPS. Let me explain:

    A lisp is the difficulty making a clear ‘S’ and ‘Z’. Other sounds can also be affected by the tongue protruding too far forward and touching the upper teeth or the upper lip even. ‘T’ and ‘D’ can be produced with ‘too much tongue at the front’ and this can also have an impact on ‘CH’ and often also ‘SH’.

    1. Interdental lisp

    Protruding the tongue between the front teeth while attempting ‘S’ or ‘Z’ is referred to as interdental lisp; it can make the speech sound ‘muffled’ or ‘hissy’. Often, we associate a lisp with the person sounding a bit immature. The good news is that this type of lisp is the easiest to correct and, in my practice. I have a 100% success rate with this type of lisp.

    1. Lateral lisp

    In a lateral lisp the person produces the ‘S’ and ‘Z’ sounds with the air escaping over the sides of the tongue. This renders the ‘S’ as sounding ‘slushy’ or ‘wet’. This type of lisp is a bit harder to correct than the interdental lisp. In my experience this can be fixed but it might need a bit longer, more intensive therapy than the interdental lisp.

    1. Palatal lisp

    With a palatal lisp the ‘S’ sound is attempted with the tongue touching the palate, much further back than it should be. The ‘S’ sounds ‘windy’ and ‘hissy’. This is a quite rare lisp production but it is also not difficult to correct.

    These types of speech difficulties come under the category of ‘speech delay of unknown origin’ and may persist into adolescence and adulthood as ‘residual errors‘.

    Some thoughts on Treatment in general:

    Lisps can be treated successfully by a Speech and Language Therapist. However, for the treatment to work well, a student needs to be able to cooperate and want to improve his or her speech. Lisp remediation entails a fair amount of repetitive work and very young children or unmotivated older children don’t make the best candidates for treatment for this reason. Often students present with other speech, language or social communication difficulties and here the lisp might not be the priority for treating. For example, it might be that due to a student’s Attention Deficit Disorder they are simply not able to focus on speech practice in their daily life.

    When should treatment of lisp begin?

    Waiting well past 4½ years is not advisable as the longer we wait and do nothing the stronger engrained the erroneous tongue/speech habit will become. The ‘right’ age for therapy for one child may be different from the ‘right’ age for another child even within the same family. So do make an appointment with a speech and language therapist to assess and see whether your child might be ready to start therapy.

    Do lots of children lisp—is it normal?

    Until the age of about 4–4.5 years old it can be a perfectly normal developmental phase for some children to have the interdental lisp. But when we see and hear a lateral or palatal lisp we ought to act and see a speech and language therapist for sure.

    After the age of 4.5 or 5 years old most speech therapists would agree on at least having a look to see if treatment could be started. The longer we wait the harder it is to retrain the brain pathways to adopt new speech habits.

    What happens during the first Speech and Language Consultation?

    The first consultation takes about an hour and involves screening relevant areas of communicative function. We take a detailed history, examine the anatomy of the child’s mouth and tongue movements. We check for tongue tie, teeth formation, palate structure and function, as well as swallowing patterns.

    Then we begin straight away to try and see if any of the alveolar sounds (T/D/L/N) can be produced correctly with the right tongue placement as that would be the starting point from where to shape a good, clear ‘S’ sound.

    The first consultation usually ends with home practice being given, explained to parents and another appointment being made for follow up.

    Therapy – what does a session look like?

    Each therapy session consists of:

    1. Listening to sounds, discriminating sounds, identifying sounds, listening to rhyming sounds, sound awareness. We call this Auditory discrimination of single sounds: can the student hear the difference between two words that are the same apart from the first sound: ‘sing’ and ‘thing’ or ‘sigh’ and ‘thigh’?
    2. Sound production: using a variety of different prompts and cues we will teach how to physically make the new sound. Often, we work on making a NEW sound, instead of correcting the OLD one. We work on imitation of single sounds then gradually we try and make new sounds in short words, then longer words and then phrases and sentences.
    3. Games! We play games and try and have fun in between listening and producing our new sounds to help students stay motivated and even enjoy the therapy session and process.

    How long does it take to ‘fix up’ a lisp?

    It tends to take about one term with weekly sessions to help a student make good ‘S’ sounds in phrases and sentences. If the student can do the home practice every day in between the weekly sessions, then in most cases I am able to pronounce the lisp as ‘fixed’ after about one term.

    After that the student needs to practise, practise, practise, at home and in daily life to keep reminding themselves of their new skills and their new sound production.

    It is a matter of reminding and wanting to get it right. Occasionally a student returns to me for another term of simply practising their skills together with me as they are finding it hard for any number of reasons to practise at home. But generally, 8/10 students will be fine after some 12–13 sessions and their speech will be perceived as perfectly typical by family and friends.

    If your child has a lisp or any other speech error, please do not hesitate to contact me.

    Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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    The purpose and nature of a speech and language therapy assessment

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    If you have ever wondered what happens when you bring your child to a speech and language therapy assessment, then this blog will shed light on the ins and outs of it for you.

    At its heart, a speech and language therapy assessment is a systematic and thorough evaluation of your child’s communication or eating/swallowing abilities. It’s more than just asking a few questions. It is a carefully constructed process designed to identify strengths, pinpoint challenges, and ultimately pave the way for effective intervention.

    Establishing a detailed profile – a few bullet points:

    • Identification of communication and swallowing difficulties: I aim to determine if a communication or swallowing disorder exists. I will establish if the difficulty is a delay or a more complex disorder.
    • Diagnosis of the specific disorder/autism: The assessment delves deeper to pinpoint the specific type and nature of the difficulty. For instance, is your child’s language delay due to a specific learning disability, a developmental delay, or another underlying condition?
    • Knowing the aetiology or what is causing a difficulty is crucial for targeted intervention. And whilst we are on the topic let’s talk about an autism assessment: I am trained and experienced in assessing and diagnosing autism. However, when it comes to the diagnosis of autism I provide a preliminary ‘working hypothesis’ rather than giving a definite final diagnosis. The reason for this is that it is considered the ‘gold standard’ and ‘best practice’ to diagnose autism in a multi-disciplinary setting and context. Since I work on my own, I always refer to highly recommended multi-disciplinary clinics for the ultimate diagnostic assessment.
    • Determination of severity: Understanding the severity of the difficulty is essential for prioritising intervention and measuring progress. Is your child’s difficulty mild, moderate, or severe? This helps me choose a particular approach and then tailor it to suit each individual child.
    • Identification of underlying strengths and weaknesses: An assessment doesn’t just focus on what’s wrong. It also highlights your child’s strengths and areas of relative ease. This information is invaluable for building upon existing skills during therapy. Understanding weaknesses provides specific targets for intervention.
    • Guiding intervention planning: The assessment provides the crucial information I need to develop an individualised intervention plan. The findings directly inform the selection of therapy goals, strategies, and techniques. Without a thorough assessment, therapy would be a shot in the dark.

    A multi-faceted approach

    A speech and language therapy assessment is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ procedure. The specific tools and techniques used will vary depending on a child’s age, the nature of the suspected difficulty, and other relevant factors. However, most comprehensive assessments incorporate several key components:

    • Case history: This involves gathering information about your child’s developmental, medical, social, and educational background. We will go through all the relevant milestones and throughout the process I will make notes which will help bring all the puzzle pieces together.
    • Observation: I will observe how parent and child play together and we also look at how the child plays by themselves. Additionally of interest is how a child plays with me, the therapist. Through discussion I will also endeavour to find out how your child plays with other children, be it at the nursery or within the family.
    • Standardised assessments: These are commercially available tests with specific administration and scoring procedures. They provide norm-referenced data, allowing to compare the individual child’s performance to that of his or her peers. Examples include articulation tests, language comprehension and production tests, and fluency assessments. I tend not to use these assessments a lot.
    • Instead, I use non-standardised assessments: These are more flexible and allow to probe specific areas of concern in more detail. This might include language samples (analysing spontaneous speech), dynamic assessment (testing and teaching to identify learning potential), and informal observation of play or interaction.
    • Immediate feedback and report writing: During and thenfollowing the assessment, I will bring all the gathered information together and I will discuss with the parents what my findings are and what my recommendations in the short term are. Parents always go home with a good handful of useful strategies that they can implement at home right away. In addition, I provide a comprehensive report outlining the findings, diagnosis (if applicable), severity, strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations for intervention.

    In conclusion, a speech and language therapy assessment is a dynamic and essential process. It is a journey of discovery, aiming to understand a child and the child’s family and his or her unique communication or feeding profile. The assessment is usually the start of our wonderful learning journey together.

    Below is a short video clip of an assessment where you see me in action explaining a particular therapy approach to a set of parents. It perhaps shows a tiny bit of how relaxed we are in our sessions and that assessment is not at all daunting, but a hugely informative event overall which will leave you feeling empowered and hopeful.

    What happens after an assessment?

    Please feel free to get in touch with me via my contact form if you wish to have an assessment for your child’s communication difficulties or feeding difficulties.

    An assessment is always a stand-alone event and does not mean you need to automatically book follow up sessions at all. It will give a lot of information and based on this you can decide if you would like more therapy or follow up for you and your child. Many times ongoing therapy is not needed! I only recommend a course of therapy if it is really needed and where it would be immediately beneficial for your child.

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

    1
  • · ·

    Conquering the ‘slushy’ /S/: Your guide to treating lateral lisps

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding
    Conquering the ‘slushy’ /S/: Your guide to treating lateral lisps

    As a speech therapist, few things are as rewarding as helping a child find their clear, confident voice. Among the various speech sound disorders, the ‘lateral lisp’ – often described as a ‘slushy’ or ‘wet’ /S/ sound – presents a unique challenge. While it can be tricky to treat, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve had significant success in helping children overcome this particular hurdle.

    What is a lateral lisp?

    Most people are familiar with a frontal lisp, where the tongue protrudes between the front teeth, resulting in a /TH/ sound for an /S/ (e.g., ‘thun’ for ‘sun’). A lateral lisp, however, is different. Instead of the air escaping over the front of the tongue, it escapes over the sides, often giving the /S/ and /Z/ sounds a distinct, muffled, or ‘slushy’ quality. This happens because the tongue is not forming the correct central groove, allowing air to spill out laterally.

    The science behind a perfect /S/ vs. a slushy one

    To understand how to fix a lateral lisp, it’s helpful to understand how a ‘perfect’ /S/ sound is made. Imagine a narrow, focused stream of air. For a clear /S/ sound, your tongue forms a shallow groove down its centre, directing a precise, thin stream of air right down the middle, over the tip of your tongue, and out through a tiny opening between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. This focused airflow creates that crisp, sharp /SSSS/ sound we recognise.

    Now, picture what happens with a lateral lisp. Instead of that neat, central channel, the tongue is often flatter or positioned in a way that allows the air to escape over one or both sides. Think of it like a river overflowing its banks – the air, instead of flowing in a controlled stream, spills out sideways, creating that characteristic ‘slushy’ sound. This lateral airflow is what we need to retrain.

    Why is it tricky to treat?

    Treating a lateral lisp can be challenging for a few reasons:

    • Habitual muscle memory: The way the tongue moves and positions itself for a lateral lisp is deeply ingrained. It’s a motor habit that needs to be unlearned and replaced with a new, more precise movement.
    • Subtle differences: The difference between a lateral lisp and a correct /S/ sound can be quite subtle to perceive, both for the child and sometimes even for parents. This makes it harder for the child to self-monitor and correct.
    • Oral motor control: It requires fine motor control of the tongue muscles to create and maintain that central groove for airflow.

    My success with children aged six years and over

    I’ve found great success in treating lateral lisps, particularly with children aged six years and older. Why this age group? By this age, children typically have:

    • Increased awareness: They are more aware of their speech and often more motivated to make changes. They can better perceive the difference between their ‘slushy’ /S/ and a clear one.
    • Improved cognitive skills: They can understand and follow more complex instructions and strategies.
    • Better self-monitoring: Their ability to listen to themselves and correct their own speech improves significantly.
    • Enhanced oral motor control: Their fine motor skills, including those of the tongue, are more developed, allowing for greater precision.

    My approach focuses on a combination of auditory discrimination, tactile cues, and targeted myofunctional exercises to help children ‘feel’ the correct airflow and tongue placement. We use a variety of engaging activities to make the process fun and effective.

    It is crucial to understand tongue functioning and focusing on correcting improper oral resting posture and muscle function, which are often significant contributors to a lateral lisp. For example, if the tongue rests low and wide in the mouth consistently, or if there’s a tongue thrust during swallowing, these habits can prevent the tongue from achieving the precise, midline placement necessary for a clear /S/ or /Z/ sound. Through targeted exercises I aim to re-educate the oral and facial muscles, promoting correct tongue posture at rest, during swallowing, and, ultimately, during speech production. By strengthening the muscles responsible for tongue lifting and encouraging a more appropriate swallowing pattern we can establish the correct oral motor skills needed to overcome a lateral lisp and achieve clearer articulation.

    The recipe for success: Little and often

    The single most crucial ingredient for success in treating a lateral lisp is daily home practice of all the strategies given. This isn’t about long, arduous sessions; it’s about consistency. Think of it like building a muscle: short, frequent workouts yield better results than sporadic, intense ones.

    My recommended formula is ‘little and often’. This means:

    • Short, focused sessions: Aim for 5-10 minutes of practice, 2-3 times a day. This prevents fatigue and keeps the child engaged.
    • Integrate into daily routines: Practise while waiting for dinner, during a car ride, or before bedtime. Make it a natural part of their day.
    • Positive reinforcement: Celebrate every small success! Encouragement goes a long way in building confidence and motivation.
    • Parental involvement: Parents play a vital role in providing consistent cues and encouragement at home. I equip families with clear, easy-to-follow strategies.

    Overcoming a lateral lisp requires dedication, but with the right guidance and consistent practice, a clear, confident /S/ sound is achievable. If your child is struggling with a ‘slushy’ /S/, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can achieve success!

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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