Pat, I watch everyone's tongue as they talk! I think most tt adults 
compensate by keeping their mouth mostly closed, reducing the range of 
motion needed to speak clearly. Dr. C thinks the posterior ties are the 
cause of lateral lisps, those funny extra sibilant s's.

There is an article in Polish by a speech therapist who writes that 
people with tt use different tongue movements to make many sounds, 
resulting in close but not perfect articulation. I wish I could read the 
whole thing. So far none of my Polish friends has had the time to 
translate the entire thing, but that's the gist of the abstract.

I know my tongue fatigues when I have to lecture all day. By the end of 
the day I can barely make it work any more, and I have a pretty mild 
posterior tt (but significant enough to cause a high, narrow palate). I 
also use the wrong muscles for swallowing (cheek and jaw instead of tongue).

Linda Smith had hers revised a few years ago, and said that swallowing 
and speaking were both immediately easier, and that it did not hurt very 
much. One of these days I'll get the time to go get mine done, Dr. Larry 
Kotlow has volunteered to laser it for me.

Catherine Watson Genna, BS, IBCLC  NYC

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