Which speech disorder might include difficulties that are often perceived as a lisp?

Articulation disorders involve difficulties in the physical production of speech sounds, which can manifest in various ways, including substitution, distortion, or omission of sounds. A lisp, characterized by the incorrect tongue placement that results in the misarticulation of sibilant sounds like "s" and "z," is a common example of an articulation disorder. Individuals with articulation disorders may have trouble pronouncing certain sounds clearly, leading to perceptions like a lisp. This highlights the core characteristic of articulation disorders, which focus on the mechanics of how sounds are produced in speech.

In contrast, fluency disorders primarily involve the flow of speech, such as stuttering, while phonation disorders relate to issues with voice production, including pitch and volume problems. Cluttering refers to a speech fluency disorder where the speech is rapid and disorganized, affecting clarity but not specifically linked to lisp-like problems. Thus, the identification of a lisp aligns closely with the characteristics of an articulation disorder.