Speech impediments: Dealing with lisps and pronunciation issues

So, I’ve been running into a bit of a struggle with my pronunciation of the "ch" sound... When I try to say it, my lips tend to droop downwards, which creates this sort of rustling noise, or something like that—I can't quite put my finger on how to describe it. 🤣
Basically, when I attempt that "ch" sound, my lips don't hold their position the way they do when you say "sh," where the lips stay parted and the upper lip turns up while the lower one dips down... that’s how it's supposed to work for "ch" too, but I just can't manage it... I mean, I can force it, but then the sound comes out all weird and fuzzy with that rustling quality. It's hard to explain exactly what it sounds like...
I've spent some time searching online for specific exercises to fix this, but I haven't come across anything helpful at all. 🤷

Hi everyone 🙂

I'm looking for some exercises to help with certain speech sounds, specifically those tricky sibilants like "sh," "ch," and "zh."

My 17-year-old sister is struggling a bit. She dealt with some skin inflammation on her lower lip (neurodermatitis) for a while, and now there’s this slight whistling sound when she says those specific letters. She went to see specialists at FEMA, and they told her it wasn't super severe, so she's just on a waiting list. They said she might get an appointment around June 2011.
We did reach out to a private speech therapist, though, and they suggested she needs urgent therapy—apparently about six months of sessions, three times a week. (FEMA mentioned that since she's older and really motivated, it probably won't take nearly that long).

A half-hour session with a private specialist runs $29, and I know health is priceless... but still, I'd love to find some other options. Any advice would be so appreciated: maybe certain words or sentences we should practice repeating?

Thanks! : )

Unfortunately, those lists of words and sentences your sister is supposed to repeat won't do much good on their own. Treating sigmatism—or any speech disorder, for that matter—requires a full battery of rehab procedures. You have to break old auditory habits, reposition the articulators which aren't sitting right due to the disorder, and engage in intense work using specialized speech therapy equipment designed to boost specific pronunciation frequencies. Of course, there’s also a massive amount of homework involved. Without a speech pathologist and their professional tools, this kind of therapy is essentially pointless. Age plays a role in how successful rehabilitation is, sure, but so does the patient's own motivation. The real question is how severe her sigmatism actually is—whether it's a narrow case or part of a broader group of issues. Sometimes people don't even bother with therapy because they don't view it as a serious condition; they just think they need to get used to it. That is, unless it bothers her personally or she has a specific reason to fix it.
If you have the budget for it, I suggest looking into private speech therapy. However, you can also check out clinics at local health centers in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, most of these clinics, and even FEMA itself, prioritize young children, especially preschoolers. To be blunt, FEMA is completely overwhelmed with patients and consistently exceeds its annual quotas, making it incredibly difficult to secure an appointment there.
In any case, I wish you luck in addressing the sigmatism if your sister decides to move forward. I hope my input was somewhat useful.

Thanks for getting back to me.🙂

We've checked everywhere and yeah, younger kids definitely get priority.
Now we're looking at a private speech therapist. I mean, I trust their expertise, but I'm a bit skeptical since they're insisting on at least six months of therapy (three times a week)... so I guess it feels like they might just be prioritizing profit over everything else.😢

Regarding that, there is no reason to be suspicious. Speech therapy for any kind of disorder is a long haul, especially for adults. Since your sister is 17, she’s been living with this speech pattern for quite some time now; it isn't going to vanish in a few weeks. Six months would be a reasonable minimum to see if the issue diminishes or resolves, depending entirely on her motivation. Don't go expecting her sigmatism to disappear overnight just because she started therapy. A lot depends on dental health and various other factors too. Has she seen a dentist yet? What is her bite like? Does she need braces, or is she already wearing them? All of this matters. If she needs orthodontic work, she should probably get it sorted now while she still has coverage through Medicaid. These things directly impact the quality of the therapy. Again, I say there is no reason for distrust. However, before you pick a speech pathologist, do some homework. Ask about their specialties so you don't end up with someone who lacks experience working with older teens or adults.

@briskpanther33/">@@briskpanther33, I’m honestly not sure where this sudden sense of urgency is coming from—especially since two separate professionals have already weighed in and confirmed that the issue isn't nearly as pronounced as people seem to think. It's clearly not an emergency.

I mean, what is the point of intensive therapy at seventeen, particularly if the speech impediment isn't even that noticeable? Unless she’s planning on becoming a news anchor for ABC 🤷, I’m just not seeing how all this effort is worth it for her alone.

I definitely find myself agreeing with wanderingcanyon2 here; she practically read my mind when she brought up dental history. Usually, these things are tied directly to oral structure—especially if there was orthodontic work in the past, or if braces might actually be necessary now.

Speech therapy is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll end up pouring money upon money into sessions for six months only to see marginal improvements, and then what? This kind of thing doesn't just vanish overnight. At seventeen, a sigmatism isn't going to miraculously disappear—not if it's fundamentally linked to "dental issues." It's a much more complex situation than most people realize. 😉

Thanks for the reply.

She saw the dentist, so there aren't any dental issues.
For a long time, she had this inflammation on the lower part of her lip (on the outside), which kept acting up. It actually changed how she shaped her lips when saying certain letters.

That’s cleared up now, but you can still tell she pronounces some sounds differently... for instance, she can say every letter clearly on its own... but when it comes to actual words, then (if she isn't thinking about it or if she's speaking quickly) she really overemphasizes the "ch" and "sh" sounds. If she speaks slowly, you barely notice it.

It's not that I don't trust private speech therapists; I know these things don't get fixed overnight. She had an evaluation at FEMA, which took about an hour, and their take is that therapy might be shorter since she's got a strong will... when she went to the private therapist, they basically told her right at the door that she'd need to come in for six months, and they gave her a schedule and a price list immediately... they just assumed that without even doing an exam.

She's thinking about majoring in English or maybe Scandinavian studies at UCLA, so that's a bigger reason why she wants to work on her pronunciation.

Thanks again for all the advice and help. 🙂 Best!🙂🙂

Aha, fair enough. My apologies then—I was merely being curious 😁.
Listen, willpower can drive just about anything, especially when you're dealing with health issues. You might want to try going through a private clinic instead; if you notice significant progress in a shorter timeframe—and assuming the specialist is satisfied with the results—then maybe consider wrapping up the treatment. Paying out of pocket for sessions three times a week over six months is... well, it’s a bit of a financial sinkhole, I suppose. Though, I should reiterate—if someone is truly determined to fix this, then there really is no price too high. 🙂

Everything's going fine : )

In the end, we'll probably just go to a private speech therapist... I mean, it doesn't have to take nearly as long as those doctors say it will...

We actually started practicing every day yesterday... like, we just talk using really simple sentences. She's feeling super encouraged because she can see the progress. As soon as she realized why, for instance, she needed to emphasize certain sounds in a word, she got it right on the second try—it was one of those "a-ha!" moments where she finally understood her own mistake.

Sentences like this (or whatever you want to call them) are pretty effective 🙂
...the leaves rustle in the colorful, shady forest.

I seem to recall some exercises I was given ages ago by colleagues over at a local radio station—one specific phrase stuck with me: "a mouse with a gun is still just a mouse."
Now, whether that actually helps anyone is a bit of a question mark, but feel free to give it a shot. 🙂
That’s really the only thing I can remember regarding these voices 😁

I'm having some trouble with my pronunciation of the "sh" and "zh" sounds. I can technically produce them, but there's this weird, breathy hissing sound whenever I do.
Right now, I’m mostly just opening my jaw slightly, tucking my tongue against the sides of my teeth, and pouting my lips a bit. It clearly isn't the right way to go about it, so I was wondering if someone could give me a really detailed breakdown of how to actually shape these sounds properly.

For a bit of context, I'm 18. When I was little, I actually struggled with my "R" and "L" sounds—I didn't really get them down until I was maybe 8 or 9. I can't quite remember if I had issues with the "ch" sound back then, but I seem to say it perfectly fine now. I've never actually seen a speech therapist or anything.

Thanks in advance.

Hey there,
I’m 15, and I’ve been struggling with my pronunciation—specifically with certain sounds like R, C, and S. When I try to hit that "R" sound, I end up stuttering, and honestly, it’s tanking my grades because I’m too embarrassed to actually speak up in class. I’ve already seen speech therapists, but nothing seems to be working; I’m stuck in this loop. I’m genuinely worried about my future and whether this is just how it’s going to be forever. The stuttering started when I was about 9, but these pronunciation issues have been with me my entire life. What should I do? Has anyone else here dealt with something similar? Is there any actual way to fix this?