Functional speech disorders can persist into adulthood. It especially happens in people who “dropped out” of speech therapy as children or who didn’t receive treatment. Some adults live in denial and are happy to accept their speech the way it is. But there are adults who are extremely unhappy about their lisping. They feel embarrassed, frustrated and accept defeat. They fear that it may be ‘too late’ to rectify their problem of lisping.
Process Of Assessment
Adults who need help for treating their lisp, seek the help of a speech-language pathologist (SLP) on their own accord. They are also encouraged by their friends, colleagues or family.
Therapy For Adults
The speech therapy for adults is along the same lines as therapy for children. Adults are very motivated to practice what they learn from the speech therapy sessions. But sometimes they find it difficult to find someone to help them with their “homework”. It is very important to find someone to help you with your practice, give you accurate feedback and encourage you.
Find your problem:
First identify the sounds and letters you have trouble while pronouncing. If necessary, ask a family member or friend to help you out. Make a list of those words you have trouble pronouncing and practice saying them correctly.
Try ways to hold your mouth:
Try the “Butterfly Technique”, if you have difficulty making an S sound. Place the tip of your tongue lightly on the sides of your teeth. Keep the center of your tongue curved in a half loop letting the air flow over it and try to make an S sound.
Repeating another letter to make similar sound:
Dr. Caroline Bowen suggests saying the letter S again and again for those people who have trouble making the S sound. When you repeat saying the letter T you will notice there is a slight S sound.
Understand the factors that can cause a person to speak with a lisp:
It is more likely that a person with a long tongue would lisp.The tongue interferes with the pronunciation.
