Lisping

St._Andalou

Hey all,

I'm a young adult male who has a lisp. I've had it my whole life. It's not too bad, I can speak clearly, and it's certainly improved since I was a child. I've done some research on it. A lot of lisps are linked to a childhood trauma, although I don't know how true this is. I've read that children can easily be taught not to lisp if they're sent to speech therapy in time, but the information for adults is very vague.

I would like to get rid of it, though? Is it possible, or is it too late in life (I'm in my twenties)? I've been bullied for it a lot, and even now I get very annoyed when people point it out.

I've read about speech therapy classes, although they seem expensive. Does anyone have experience? What can you recommend or advise?

Sardonicat

Hi OP, I'm sorry to hear that you've been bullied because of your lisp. I think it's really unfortunate that you would feel this way about the way you speak. I'm not posting this to be trite, but, maybe to give you a different perspective; I find lisps lovely and I know I'm not the only woman who thinks this way. I've never regarded a lisp to be a speech impediment in at all, in fact, I find it charming. Like I said, I'm not trying to minimise your issue, I can only imagine what being bullied about it can make you feel about the way you speak, so apologies if I have caused offense.

Motley Crue

Hi! I am a Speech and Language Therapist for paediatrics. As an adult I am not sure if in Ireland they would consider you as a high priority. Has it affected your adult life greatly?

St._Andalou

Sardonicat Thanks for your reply, it's nice to have a different perspective. I didn't take offence at all. I've become much more accepting of it in recent years, it doesn't bother me so much now. And no one I've dated has ever had a problem with it, so I've learned not to make a mountain out a molehill.

Motley Crue (great username, by the way). I cannot honestly say that it's affected my adult life greatly. I've just learned to accept it. My lisp isn't severe.

I was expecting to pay for speech therapy since I'm an adult and not high priority. I'm interested to know prices. I can't afford it at the minute, to be honest, but when I'm more financially secure, it's definitely something I'd look into.

Do you have any experience with adults, or know about that area? I'm really curious about results in adults/success rates.

Motley Crue

Unfortunately I deal with children, but as you say you may not be seen as a high priority in the health service. You should google some speech and language therapy services in your area that are private! Lisp is not too serious. Try saying the 't' sound over and over and see if you can produce that without a lisp.

Roselm

Go to iasltpp.com for a list of private therapists practicing in your area.
Go to HSE.ie for public service. Not all areas have a prioritisation system-some clinics will see anyone who refers themselves (assuming they need Speech Therapy!).

It depends on the person as to what they are capable of achieving and how quickly they will make progress but it is certainly not impossible for someone of your age to do well with this sort of thing.

Good luck!

boarder83

Hi,

I know there's a good speech therapist in Stepaside that sees both adults and children. you could check them out.
www.stepasideslt.com

TheresaT

Hi OP,

If your lisp is bothering I think it would be well worth a visit to a Speech & Language therapist. They will be in the best position to advise you if speech therapy will work for you.

It can be expensive, €80 - €120 per session and you will need to be willing to put in the practice yourself as well.

There's no reason that the speech therapy that works to improve childrens' lisps won't work for you. (Unless you have something structural that prevents you from saying your "s" e.g. a wide space between your teeth could cause a lisping sound.)

I've never come across any research that says lisping occurs as a result of childhood trauma but I'm open to correction on that.

Having said all that, your lisp is probably a lot more noticable to you than to those around you. If you asked people you know I bet a lot of them wouldn't even have noticed. If you feel that you're a good communicator overall, don't get too bogged down in the detail.

Good luck with whatever you decide