Your child says "thun" instead of "sun," or "wabbit" instead of "rabbit." It's adorable at three. At five, you start to wonder. By first grade, maybe a teacher brings it up at a conference.
We hear this question from Calabasas and Westlake Village parents every week: is this still normal, or should we be doing something? The answer depends on the sound, the type of error, and your child's age. Here is what the research actually says.
Speech sound milestones
When children typically master each sound
The most complete look at American children's speech is a 2020 review of 15 studies covering nearly 19,000 children (Crowe and McLeod, 2020). It found that most children produce most sounds correctly by age 5. Here is when 90% of children have each sound:
Two things stand out. First, S and L are mastered earlier than many parents expect, around 4 to 5. Second, R and TH really are the last to arrive, so a five-year-old working on them is often right on track.
Types of lisps
Not all lisps are the same
"Lisp" is a catch-all word, but speech therapists look closely at what kind it is.
01
Frontal lisp
The tongue slips between the teeth, so "sun" sounds like "thun." Common in young children and often resolves on its own. If it's still there after age 5, it's worth a look.
02
Lateral lisp
Air escapes out the sides of the mouth, so S and SH sound slushy or wet. This is not part of typical development at any age and rarely goes away on its own. We recommend an evaluation whenever you hear it.
03
Lost front teeth
Many six and seven-year-olds sound a little lispy while their front teeth are out. That usually settles once adult teeth come in.
The tricky one
The R sound: when to wait and when not to
R is one of the hardest sounds in English. Many children say "wed" for "red" well into kindergarten, and that alone is not a red flag. But R errors that continue past about age 6 tend to become habits that are harder to change later. If your child is in first grade, still substituting W for R, and starting to notice it (or other children are), it's a good time to have it checked.
Next steps
When a speech sound evaluation makes sense
Consider an evaluation if any of these are true:
- Your child is past the ages above and still has trouble with those sounds
- You hear a slushy, wet, or lateral lisp at any age
- Family members or teachers have trouble understanding your child
- Your child is frustrated, avoids talking, or gets teased
- You notice an open-mouth resting posture, mouth breathing, or the tongue pushing forward when swallowing
That last one matters more than most people realize. Tongue posture and swallowing patterns can make a lisp harder to fix. As both a speech and orofacial myofunctional therapy practice, we look at the whole picture, not just the sound.
Local families
What about school speech services?
Families in Las Virgenes Unified and Conejo Valley Unified sometimes hear that a sound error "isn't impacting learning yet," so the school can't provide services. Schools need to see an educational impact to qualify a child. That doesn't mean the error will fix itself. Private articulation therapy can address it earlier, often in a few months, before it becomes a habit or a source of embarrassment.
Calabasas · Westlake Village
Articulation therapy in Calabasas and Westlake Village
SG Speech Therapy is based at 4505 Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas, a short drive from Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, and Hidden Hills. We see children in our clinic, in your home, at school or daycare, and over Zoom, with appointments available Monday through Friday until 7 PM.
Every child starts with a thorough speech and language evaluation. From there, therapy is play-based, short, and designed so you know exactly what to practice at home.
Learn more about speech therapy in Calabasas or speech therapy in Westlake Village.
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Questions parents ask