Lisping 2-year-old

[kimmiloo]

My daughter is 2 and a half, and we have noticed that she lisps quite a bit. Her tongue position tends to be much further outside the mouth than ours, and we are worried about when/how to begin correcting this. She understands when we sit with her and practise saying "s" words keeping our tongue INSIDE our teeth, but it's not natural for her.
Should we see a speech-language pathologist already, or wait a few years?

[SpeechPaths]

Hi Kimmiloo,

You asked an important question about speech sounds and when they should be developed. Parents often ask this question and there isn't a simple answer, as speech sounds develop differently from one child to the next. Many children make sound errors when they are learning to talk. It becomes a speech sound disorder when that error occurs beyond a certain age.

I will contact you directly in a private message, but here is some helpful information about speech sounds for other moms:

This chart shows at what age children typically master different speech sounds: What sounds should my child be saying?

Also, here are some other questions to consider:

- How much of your child's speech do you understand? (less than 25%? about half of what he says? everything?)
- Does your child have trouble understanding others?
- Does your child become frustrated when you or others can't understand her?
- Is there a family history of speech and language difficulties, or any other concerns?

I firmly believe that if you have concerns about your child's speech and language development, it is worth speaking to a Speech-Language Pathologist. You know your child best! If you find out your child is right on track, an S-LP can give you ideas for things to try at home to continue developing speech and language skills.

Best,

Brittany
Rejuvenate Health Services | 2386 Main Street | London, Ontario | (519) 652-0740