Having a speech lisp can be so much of a trouble? This is especially true when people start requesting you to repeat what you have just said. It may also be a cause of bullying when people start copying your speaking mannerisms or your voice.
To avoid the problems that are brought about by a lisp, here are the things that you can do.
First, you need to find out in what situations you are experiencing a lisp. Normally, people with lisp do not experience the condition all the time. It only comes out during specific periods or emotions such as when a person is excited or nervous about something. Knowing when your lisp manifests will help you in avoiding such situations and thus avoiding lisping.
Next, you always have to try to speak more slowly than usual. If people around you are already getting conscious about the way you speak, then you need to start being very careful. Speaking slowly will allow you to articulate every word that you are saying and it will also allow you to pronounce the words better. It will also relax your muscles therefore you will be able to control them more easily.
The third step is to get help from experts. Some cases of lisp are quite extreme. For people who have them, it will be advisable to get help from the professions. There are certain speech therapy programs that are provided in order to correct the way of speaking for people with lisp.
If you have done the first two steps and you are not that willing to get help from a professional yet, then you can try the teeth smiling method. This method is a kind of speech therapy that aims to enable the tongue to move more freely. The first thing you need to do for this method is to smile. Your smile should be big and warm. It should be big enough such that your teeth are showing when you are doing it.
Keeping that same smile, grab a book and read it aloud. If you do not have a book with you, then do a monologue. It may seem weird but this is a good practice for your tongue. Whenever you say something aloud, your tongue gradually learns how to position itself. Do this technique when you are alone in your room and never try it in front of people or they might think you are crazy.
You can also have a friend or a family member help you in overcoming the lisp problem. Ask someone close to you to say some words that are difficult for you to say. Watch their mouth and the movement of their tongue carefully then try to imitate them in front of a mirror. This will help you in knowing how to properly move your tongue to produce the right sounds.
It may take some time to completely get rid of lisp but that is okay. All you need is to practice hard and be patient. Do the best that you can and be confident in yourself that you can overcome it.
