2 1/2 Year Old with New Lisp?

Hi J.,

I'm a pediatric Speech Language Pathologist. I think you have a great ear and are a keen observer! What I would recommend without seeing her is to not "call attention" to it, but overpronounce the /s/ sound with a big smile. You can even play a "snake game" one morning and point out how your teeth are together so you can make a big snake sound (or you could say my tongue is hiding, and my teeth are together)... but don't ask her to perform it... she might just want to try it out if you don't put the demand on her. Make it silly.

Just for reassurance, I will say that /s/ is one of those quirky sounds that can take all the way up to a later age to properly develop, but I never tell parents to just sit and wait if you have concerns. Try out some speech sound games without being overly forceful in having her try it... and just do some nice modeling of the sound and see if she catches on first. Otherwise, absolutely bring her in for an eval if you feel more comfortable. I personally would not pick up a 2 year old for a lisp - only because it's developmentally appropriate. At the same time, the earlier you can make her aware (without making her self conscious) the better. It's a tricky balance, so focus more on showing and modeling correct production rather than having her try to "fix" it or putting her on the spot. The good news is, she said it correctly before, so I'm sure she has it in her to say it correctly!

Is she a thumb sucker? There is no pacifier any longer right? Just food for thought - those both can cause changes in palate and tooth structure than can cause a lisp that is not correctable with traditional therapy.

Good luck to you!

A shot in the dark - but has there been a change in her teeth? Either loose teeth or new teeth?

I would call the Dr. to make sure everything is ok. But it may also be a normal "glitch" in her verbal development. My son was a very verbal 2-year-old and went from speaking cleary to suddenly developing a stutter. We checked with the Dr. and he said it was normal - part of a 2-year-old's frustration in not being able to keep up with the adult converasation. Dr. told us to ignore it and NOT try to correct it or draw attention to it, but simply to slow down in our speech and let our sone have plenty of time to respond to us (we are a verbal family and tend to talk over each other!). Sure enough, the stuttering went away - can't recall, but I think it took around 6 months to clear completely.

I would check that she is not mimicking any charectors she may be into...movies or shows etc...even a talking toy. My daughter is mispronouncing words she used to say clearly because her older brother has some speech difficulties. I would consider that too!

I would check it out. It couldn't hurt. For speech therapy (if she needs it) the earlier the better to correct it. Is she on any new medications? New foods? Could also be a side affect to a food allergy. My family had many so most issues in my household are related to food. Good Luck.

She may have picked it up from someone that she heard and thought it sounded "cool". Try asking her why she is doing it, or where she heard it before digging any deeper. Good Luck!