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Baby Talk
Does Tongue-tie Affect Speech?
By Donna Smith
All these problems can be caused by tongue-tie. "A tongue-tie can affect the range and movement of the tongue to produce specific tongue tip sound," says Hudon. "Tongue tip sounds can be affected by tongue-tie, including 'l,' 'r,' 't,' 'd,' 'n,' 'th,' 'sh,' 's' and 'z.'"
Parents need to watch and listen to see if their child's speech is developing normally. Hudon says parents should also ask themselves these questions:
- Can the child lift his tongue to lick an ice cream cone or lollipop?
- Can she stick out her tongue past her lips?
- Can the child move her tongue into the insides of her cheeks?
If a parent answers "no" to any of these questions, he should take the child to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist or pediatrician for an evaluation.
While she is unsure if tongue-tie has affected her son's speech, Chamberlain has strong suspicions. "He is 18 months old and has not begun to talk," she says. "He makes noises and sounds but no real words. I noticed he recognizes the word 'ball' and he is saying 'ba.' His tongue is not reaching to the top of his mouth. ... He cannot extend his tongue beyond his lower lip."
Chamberlain has consulted a speech therapist and is also considering surgery for her son. "I know that Noah is young and his speech could be normal for him at this age, tongue-tied or not," says Chamberlain. "However, he does seem to have difficultly extending his tongue [and] making certain sounds like 's,' 'l' and 't' sounds. I love my child and tink he is perfect, of course, and I would not opt for surgery unless there was a possibility of a major speech problem."
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