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Baby Talk

Does Tongue-tie Affect Speech?

By Donna Smith

Ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, is a condition where movement of the tongue is restricted due to a small piece of skin under the tongue called the lingual frenulum. In severe cases, the skin could be attached all the way to the tip of the baby's tongue. The condition, which affects approximately four out of every 1,000 births, can affect breastfeeding success and may cause speech problems down the road.

When Shannon Chamberlain's third child, Noah, was 2 weeks old, her pediatrician mentioned that he might be tongue-tied. Chamberlain noticed a problem when her son began to make "clicking" noises during breastfeeding. "His tongue began to form a notch in the tip," says the Kalispell, Mont., mom. "He would nurse for a few moments, release, click his tongue a few times and try again. He began to act like he was not getting enough milk as well."

At 6 weeks, Chamberlain's pediatrician did a simple clipping of Noah's tongue to help loosen it, and the clicking stopped. "Everyone thought the problem was solved," she says. "We have not mentioned [it] since then because we have just recently noticed it might still be a problem. His speech is not progressing the way that I believe it should."

Mindy Hudon, a speech and language pathologist and iParenting.com expert advisor, is all too familiar with tongue-tie. "I was tongue-tied and so was my nephew and my twin boys," says Hudon. "Tongue-tie can cause speech and swallowing problems in children. Depending on how tight the cord is determines the severity for the potential speech or swallowing problems."

The Department of Otolaryngology at Columbia University in New York suggests the following characteristics are common in children with speech problems:

• A v-shaped or heart-shaped notch at the tip of the tongue
• Inability to protrude the tongue past the upper gums (or incisors)
• Inability to touch the roof of the mouth with tongue
• Difficulty moving the tongue from side to side

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• Talk about it!

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