Palatal Lisp: When S Is Made Too Far Back in the Mouth

What a palatal lisp is

A clear S is made at the alveolar ridge — the bumpy ridge just behind the upper front teeth. SH is made a little further back, just behind that ridge. A palatal lisp happens when the tongue’s contact drifts further back again, with the middle of the tongue raised toward the hard palate. On the IPA chart, these are different places of articulation: alveolar, postalveolar, and palatal.²

ASHA classifies attempted-but-altered sounds as distortions. A palatal S is an attempt at S that comes out distorted — hissy, slurred, or SH-like — which separates it from a child who simply substitutes a clean SH.¹

What we know — and don’t

Of the four lisp types, the palatal lisp has the least dedicated research. What is well established is the developmental timetable for S itself — acquired at 4;0–4;11 at the 90% criterion in US data — and that S distortions which persist past childhood are residual errors, estimated to affect 1–2% of young adults.^3,4

Treatment evidence for S distortions mostly comes from frontal and dentalized lisps. One preliminary study of 18 children aged 6;9 to 11;10 found that short weekly sessions using placement cues and structured drill improved dentalized and interdental S, with most children keeping their gains two years later. SLPs typically apply the same principles of placement teaching and practice to a palatal S.⁵

How placement is taught

Because a palatal lisp is about a hidden tongue position, visual information helps. ASHA lists palatography — coloring agents or a palatal device with electrodes that record where the tongue touches the roof of the mouth — alongside ultrasound imaging of the tongue, mirrors, and tactile cues as techniques SLPs use to give feedback on placement.¹

• Moving the tongue tip forward to the ridge behind the top teeth.
• Keeping the middle of the tongue low, with a groove down the center for the air.
• Contrasting S with SH so the child can feel and hear the difference in placement.
• Building the corrected S up from syllables to words, phrases, and conversation.

That review — of 15 studies of oral motor exercises — is the basis for practicing the S sound itself rather than non-speech movements.⁶

What to do if you hear it

The free lisp check above looks for the frontal and lateral patterns; it cannot identify a palatal lisp. If your child’s S sounds hissy or SH-like, especially past age 5, ask a speech-language pathologist to assess it — they can see and hear placement directly. ASHA’s consumer page describes what an evaluation involves, and ASHA ProFind lists certified SLPs.^7,8

Frequently asked questions

References

8 sources from authoritative bodies. Last reviewed October 2026.

1. 1.ASHASpeech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology — Practice Portal page.
2. 2.International Phonetic AssociationThe International Phonetic Alphabet and the IPA Chart — Official IPA chart.
3. 3.Peer-reviewedCrowe & McLeod — Children’s English Consonant Acquisition in the United States: A Review — Systematic review (AJSLP), 2020.
4. 4.Peer-reviewedFlipsen — Emergence and Prevalence of Persistent and Residual Speech Errors — Review (Seminars in Speech and Language), 2015.
5. 5.Peer-reviewedFlipsen, Sacks & Neils-Strunjas — Effectiveness of SATPAC to Remediate Dentalized and Interdental /s, z/ — Preliminary treatment study (Perceptual and Motor Skills), 2013.
6. 6.Peer-reviewedMcCauley et al. — Effects of Nonspeech Oral Motor Exercises on Speech — Evidence-based systematic review (AJSLP), 2009.
7. 7.ASHASpeech Sound Disorders — Consumer page.
8. 8.ASHAASHA ProFind: Find a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist — Referral directory.