Lisping, lisping, hair on the tongue, interdental sigmatism… These expressions refer to the same phenomenon: difficulty pronouncing certain syllables or phonemes. What are the causes and consequences? When should you worry about it? How to deal with this problem? Answers from Elodie Minghelli, speech therapist and member of the National Federation of Speech Therapists (FNO).
What is interdental sigmatism, or lisping?
“Listing, also called lisping, hair on the tongue or interdental sigmatism, is a joint disorder that begins in childhood and may continue into adulthood“, explains the expert.
In question ? A bad positioning of the tongue which modifies the pronunciation of certain sounds. Concretely, the child replaces the sound “ch” by “ss” and the sound “jj” by “zz”.
Quite benign, lisp can however be the source of bullying and become a real complex.
What do you call a person who lisps?
Children or adults who “lisp” do not wear no specific qualifier.
Causes: why do people lisp (children and adults)?
Above all, know that there is not always reason to worry, insists Elodie Minghelli. “This pronunciation disorder generally disappears on its own before the age of 5 or 6. Several factors can be the cause: age (early childhood) and sucking habits, but also more emotional factors. insidious.
- The lisping can quite simply manifest itself in young children who have no not yet learned to pronounce or distinguish certain sounds.
- The child can also lisp by imitationwhen one of his parents lisps, for example, or when his parents “encourage” him by repeating his pronunciation errors, rather than correcting him.
- In some cases, when he wants to attract attention (to the birth of a younger brother or sister for example), the child can also lisp voluntarily.
If the disorder persists, other functional causes should be explored:
- Poor positioning of the tongue, caused by mouth breathing, by sucking your thumb for a long time or keeping a pacifier. “The tongue should normally be placed at the level of the palate, slightly behind the top teeth, recalls Elodie Minghelli. But many factors can cause postural disorder.” And to reassure:
Not everyone has a tongue on the palate, but not everyone develops joint problems.
- Of the jaw deformitiesa organic abnormality of the tongueor the soft palate.
- A poor perception of soundswhich prevents the child from correctly identifying the sound to be reproduced.
The lisp can persist into adulthood, insists the speech therapist, due to bad habits such as chewing pens or his hair, biting his nails, etc. “Patients often encountered sucking problems in childhood that they compensated for with other habits as they grew up.”
What can be the consequences of such a disorder?
Children are not always tender with each other: lisping, or lisping, can unfortunately to make fun of and must be taken care of if it persists after the child is 5 or 6 years old.
Regardless of the patient’s age, this disorder can prevent him from expressing himself freely or communicating effectively. What alter social and professional relationships. On the program: frustration, embarrassment, anxiety, loss of self-esteem… It is therefore important to investigate to identify the causes of lisp and adapt the treatment.
How to get rid of a lisp (or lisp)?
In most cases, when the lisp is not related to an underlying disorder, it disappears spontaneously before the age of five or six. On the other hand, if it persists, it is necessary to intervene.
How to help your child?
- Take care to don’t encourage this trouble by “talking baby”, this mimicry risks disturbing your child and reinforcing his lisping.
- Without repeating it systematically, tell it when it is wrong and correct it from time to time.
- Make sure it’s not a ploy of your child to attract your attention (on the occasion of a birth, a separation, a move, etc.). If so, talk to him about it.
When should you consult a speech therapist?
“No need to be alarmed too soon, alert Elodie Minghelli. Before the age of five or six, you can consult a speech therapist for carry out parental guidance sessions. It is the professional who will assess the severity of the disorder and take the appropriate measures according to the age of the child.
Before seeing a speech therapist, take meet at your general practitioner to get a prescription. Then comes the time to explore the disorder with the speech therapist.
The speech therapist establishes the diagnosis of dysfunctional swallowing. He can also recommend an orthodontist check-up and / or an ENT ventilatory check-up, specifies the professional.
If the assessments reveal no abnormalities, the speech therapist suggests a personalized rehabilitation plan. Objective: to strengthen the seventeen muscles of the tongue to acquire more agility and to rehabilitate the lingual posture, then the articulation, indicates the expert.
And to clarify: “The sessions in themselves are not enough to correct the disorder: the patient must be an actor in his care and regularly perform the exercises at home”. Seven to ten sessions are generally necessary.