My name is Pragnesh Patel. I have had problem since my childhood regarding my speech. I'm not able to say some of the letters correctly and hence the words also don't come out right. I am facing a lot of difficulties regarding this situation. I believe I have something called LISP. But I'm not too sure about it. I mean, I'm not able to say some of the letters such as k like kentucky etc or words starting with g like governor. Is that really lisping? I'm hoping you can provide me the answer to my question. I am 20 years old now. I wanted to know if you do treat people with LISP difficulties. What can I do about this?

Hi Pragnesh,

It sounds like you have some general speech difficulties. A lisp tends to refer to "s" and similar sounds. If you are having difficulties with "k" and "g" these are not lisps, although you may well have a lisp as well?

I would suggest that you find a qualified speech and language therapist to help you. icommunicate can only offer an online consultancy at present, but you are more than welcome to contact us regarding that service - just go to the Online Therapy page on our website.

Regarding "k" and "g", they are both sounds that are made at the back of the mouth - I am guessing you may be using a "t" and a "d" in place of these sounds (but that is just a guess). If that is your only problem and there are no other factors affecting your speech, it may not be too hard to fix your speech.

Regards Johan

Thank you for the reply. Finding a speech therapist near me will not be a very good idea to be honest. It will cost me tons of money. You say that the problem I have is not lisp. Do you know any other terms that you might think I have? Have you never met a person who was unable to say k or g as in governor correctly?

icommunicate webteam wrote:


Regarding "k" and "g", they are both sounds that are made at the back of the mouth - I am guessing you may be using a "t" and a "d" in place of these sounds (but that is just a guess).


Yes you're right for the k part. When I try to say a word that has K in it, it comes out as a t sound. But when I say the word g it kind of sounds like a d sound, although not entirely.

Hi Pragnesh,
If you do not have difficulties with the /s/ sound and it sounds correct then I doubt you have what is commonly referred to as a lisp. Not being able to say /k/ and /g/ is probably not that common for adults, but it is common for young children and some need speech therapy to help them make the sounds. Do you have any problems with the structure of your facial muscles, your teeth or tongue? It may be that you are having difficulty making these sounds because they are at the back of your mouth and a structural problem may be preventing you from putting your tongue back. However, it may just be that you got into the habit of not using these sounds as a child and as you got older they became harder to change. What sounds do you make in place of the /k/ and /g/?

Johan

icommunicate webteam wrote:
Hi Pragnesh,
If you do not have difficulties with the /s/ sound and it sounds correct then I doubt you have what is commonly referred to as a lisp. Not being able to say /k/ and /g/ is probably not that common for adults, but it is common for young children and some need speech therapy to help them make the sounds. Do you have any problems with the structure of your facial muscles, your teeth or tongue? It may be that you are having difficulty making these sounds because they are at the back of your mouth and a structural problem may be preventing you from putting your tongue back. However, it may just be that you got into the habit of not using these sounds as a child and as you got older they became harder to change. What sounds do you make in place of the /k/ and /g/?

Johan

I do not have difficulties with the s sound and it sounds correct. Yeah, the reason I have this problem is because I didn't say my first words till I was about 5 years old and hence some of the letters never caught on. 15 years later I have the same problem, and I want to do something about it. I don't think I have any problems with the structure of my facial muscles, my teeth or my tongue. But I think you are absolutely right about being sounds being at the back of my mouth and a structural problem preventing you from putting my tongue back. And you're also right about the habit part. In case of K, I make the T sound. And it's pretty hard to describe what sound I make instead of G. I can say george perfectly but I can't say give. I will make a different sound of g in give from g in george which would be more appropriate.