By Pam Marshalla
Q: My 12-year-old client is bright but has a lateral lisp. He has a gap between his side teeth. How can I tell if the dental gap is causing the lateral lisp, and how should I precede? I stuck cotton between the side teeth but it didn’t help. The dental problem may have contributed to the lisp, OR the lisp may have contributed to the dental problem. This is a chicken-and-egg situation that usually has no clear answer. But it doesn’t…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My client had a frontal lisp, but when I taught him to keep his tongue behind his teeth, he switched it to a lateral lisp. Have you seen this? What should I do? I am going to answer this question as if you already have taken my class on the lisps, or you have read my book Frontal Lisp, Lateral Lisp… I think it is somewhat common for a child with a frontal lisp to switch to a lateral lisp…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: How can you tell if a client’s tongue is too big? Usually a tongue that looks too big actually is a tongue that is low in tone. These clients usually have an unstable jaw and an unstable tongue. I.e., the jaw is low and the tongue is low and forward. The client also may have upper respiratory problems that are forcing him to keep the mouth open and carry the tongue forward in order to create a bigger oro-pharyngeal…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have several students that have distorted /r/’s and short lingua frenums. I am having trouble and would like some advice. We cannot teach what I call a “Tip R” (the Retroflex R) with a short lingua frenum, but we can teach a “Back R.” However, the Back R is more difficult to do for most students. I would continue with the Back R with an emphasis on the Butterfly Position as described in my book Successful R Therapy, but…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I use your “butterfly position” on many school age kids and most of them are able to understand it and follow directions. However, many of the preschoolers have a hard time understanding “biting the sides of their tongues.” Do you have a different way of approaching preschoolers when you want to stabilize the back of their tongues? I also have found that many preschoolers have a hard time understanding how to make the butterfly position. And children with lower…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Do you have any techniques for teaching Sh for a client who can do a correct S? There are several easy things that usually work well if the client already can do an S. Use a Sequence: Have him make an S, and then slide into a whispered (voiceless) Y. Then have him do the same thing with the lips rounded. The sound of Sh often will be heard during the transition between the two sounds if the client…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have been working with a 10-year-old girl with a significant lateral lisp that affects all of her sibilant sounds. I have been focusing on establishing /s/ and /z/, but have not been able to progress very far because her ability to achieve the correct tongue position is so inconsistent. I have taught her the “Butterfly Position” to help her lift the side margins of her tongue, and am using the “Long T Method” from Frontal Lisp, Lateral Lisp….
By Pam Marshalla
Q: You use the term “Butterfly Position” in Successful R Therapy. Is this something new? Did you make this up, or does it come from somewhere else? I made up the term “Butterfly Position” in 1978 during a workshop I was teaching. I have used the term ever since in workshop handouts and books I have written. The “Butterfly Position” refers to the ability to shape the tongue into a position that has a low midline and high sides. This…
