If you walk through the hallways of your child's school, you will probably hear dozens of other children who are talking with lisps. A lisp is a disordered production of speech sounds, not a delay. A frontal lisp is when the tongue protrudes through the front teeth when producing the sounds "s" and "z." A lateral lisp is when air escapes laterally between the teeth into the cheeks when producing the sounds "sh," "ch" and/or "j."

Usually, these disordered production do not interfere with speech intelligibility or academic performance. Most public schools follow federal guidelines for qualifying children for special education services. Federal guidelines state that in order to qualify for speech therapy (as well as other services), a child must have a disability which impacts academic performance. In most situations, a lisp does not qualify a child for services.

As a speech and language pathologist, I feel that a lisp should be treated. It will help your child articulate her thoughts in a mature manner and help reduce any teasing by her peers. Speech therapy can be provided by clinicians outside of the school system. Clinicians also service children in clinics and private practices. Services in these environments are usually provided in a one-to-one situation. Individual treatment may help your child improve her speech quickly.

Contact your child's school department with your concerns to find out their guidelines for speech services. To find speech and language services in your community contact the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association at www.asha.org."

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