“My daughter can't pronounce some letters. How can I help her?”
My 6 year old daughter has a hard time pronouncing several letters, and also has a slight lisp. Should she go for speech therapy? What could be causing her speech problems? She is the youngest of 4 children, so she hears her older siblings talking all the time.
10 Answers
At six years old, I assume she is already in school? She should have been screened by her teacher and a speech pathologist, especially if she has a lisp. In some children, some sounds don't develop until later in their development, but speech therapy is necessary to improve a lisp. A speech pathologist has the knowledge and experience to help your daughter. If she has yet to see the speech pathologist at her school, you can request an evaluation through the special education department of your school district. You can also seek an evaluation and treatment with a speech pathology clinic outside the school district. Google "speech pathology for a lisp + your town + state." When you call a clinic, be sure to ask for a clinician who is experienced in the treatment of a lisp. Best wishes!
You should seek out speech therapy services. Often articulation/ pronouncing errors lead to reading and spelling errors. A lisp usually does not correct itself so again seek out a trained speech therapist.
Kimberly Baradei
Speech-Language Pathologist
Hi! Thanks for reaching out. I would recommend starting the Speech therapy referral process with your daughter's pediatrician since she will likely need a prescription to start therapy. The doctor can confirm her need to start and the Speech therapist you end up seeing can explain possible causes after the evaluation. Best of luck, Kim
So, to be honest, your child should have an evaluation by a speech-language pathologist. By what you are saying, she is not saying several sounds correctly and is struggling with a lisp, which could indicate a myofunctional disorder. I recommend finding a speech pathologist that has training in myofunctional therapy to see if that helps. Usually, insurance covers a portion of the evaluation and treatment. Feel free to message me for more info.
Hello,
In this situation, you have the option of seeking a private and licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) in your area who will evaluate your child, or speaking to your child's teacher/school administrator to request a speech evaluation. The school-based SLP will then complete an observation of your child's speech, then if deemed necessary and academically relevant, a formal evaluation will be conducted. Contact your school to get additional information about the evaluation process as it varies from state to state.
In this situation, you have the option of seeking a private and licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) in your area who will evaluate your child, or speaking to your child's teacher/school administrator to request a speech evaluation. The school-based SLP will then complete an observation of your child's speech, then if deemed necessary and academically relevant, a formal evaluation will be conducted. Contact your school to get additional information about the evaluation process as it varies from state to state.
She should definitely get a speech evaluation and a hearing test. Often these issues are resolved quickly and it is important for her self esteem and not to be teased by other children. Good luck and I hope that your daughter improves her speech quickly.
By 6 year old she should have mastered most sounds. You mention lisp. That is a deviant pattern and usually does not go away with out intervention. And it does draw negative attention to speech. The average person knows something is wrong they may not know what. Yes you should seek speech therapy.
Yes, she needs a Speech and Language evaluation. According to your information she might be facing an articulatory or a phonological delay. Please contact your pediatrician and request a prescription for the evaluation as soon as possible.
I would definitely go see a Speech Pathologist for an articulation assessment.
Yes, a frontal lisp should be remediated by age 5; I would recommend a speech-language evaluation to assess all her sounds in error as well as articulation therapy. There are some additional factors that may be affecting your daughter's lisp, such as enlarged adenoids and tonsils, which should also be examined by your pediatrician and SLP.
