Why Your Child’s Lisp Might Be More Than a Habit | To The Top Myo & Speech

If your child has a lisp, you’ve probably heard someone say, “Don’t worry, they’ll grow out of it.” But what if that lingering “th” sound or slushy “s” isn’t just a phase? At To The Top Myo & Speech, we help families in the Chesapeake and Virginia Beach area uncover the why behind speech challenges, not just correct the sounds.

A lisp might seem like a simple speech habit, but it often points to something deeper. Many children who lisp also have differences in how their tongue, lips, and jaw are working together. These are known as orofacial myofunctional differences, and they can impact much more than speech clarity.

The Hidden Reasons Behind a Lisp

Sometimes, a lisp develops because the tongue isn’t where it needs to be during rest or during speech production. This can happen for a few reasons:

1. Mouth breathing. When a child breathes mostly through their mouth instead of their nose, their tongue tends to rest low and forward, right where those “s” and “z” sounds are made.

2. Tongue ties or restricted movement. A tongue tie can limit how the tongue moves, making it harder to create crisp, accurate sounds.

3. Thumb sucking or pacifier use. Prolonged oral habits can shift teeth and change tongue posture, which affects how sounds are formed.

4. Open-mouth posture. If your child’s lips rest apart or their tongue sits forward when relaxed, it can throw off airflow and make it harder to control speech sounds.

Why Treating the Root Cause Matters…

Traditional speech therapy can help your child learn how to say the right sounds, but if the tongue and oral muscles aren’t functioning properly, the lisp often returns. That’s why at To The Top Myo & Speech, we blend speech therapy with orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) to get to the root cause. This approach retrains tongue posture, strengthens oral muscles, and improves overall coordination for long-lasting results.

What Parents Can Look For

If your child has a lisp or ongoing speech sound errors, take a moment to notice a few things:
Do they breathe mostly through their nose or their mouth?
Is their tongue often visible when they’re at rest?
Do they have trouble keeping their lips closed comfortably?

These small details can reveal A LOT about what’s really going on.

At To The Top Myo & Speech, we don’t just focus on correcting sounds — we look at the full picture. Every child deserves to speak clearly, breathe easily, and feel confident in how their body functions.

Serving families in Chesapeake and all of Hampton Roads!
If you’d like to learn more or schedule a free Clarity Call, visit To The Top Myo & Speech today. Together, we’ll help your child reach the top, one breath and one word at a time.