From a very young age, I had a frontal lisp, where the “s” sound came out as “th.” I was constantly teased for it in primary school, though I wasn’t even aware of the impediment until the later years. Once I realized it, I became incredibly self-conscious. Life became restrictive and difficult; I avoided certain words or said the “s” sound very quietly to avoid being teased. By the final year of primary school, I found comfort in isolating myself, as it spared me from the worry and ridicule. This behavior intensified in secondary school, where it was easier not to say a word and avoid everyone. In secondary school, I was a complete loner; neither teachers nor students really interacted with me at all, unlike in primary school where teachers looked out for me, and I was more social.
In secondary school, my literal only spoken words was replying to the register. I became extremely comfortable in this non-social environment, never speaking to anyone outside of lessons, and having no friends. This pattern of hardly speaking left a lasting mark on my social skills.
And now, I can’t even have a basic or sophisticated conversation with anyone except my family. Speaking to strangers is literally a foreign concept to me; when I’m out with my family, they have to do all of the talking because I simply don’t have the social skills to know what to do or say. And no, it’s not at all due to cognitive problems from depression or brain-fog— my mind is healthy—but it’s just that I literally have ZERO idea on how to converse with strangers as I never really learned to— If students from college try to converse to me, I'm absolutely clueless about what to say and can only respond with "yes" or "no." It’s nearly impossible to have a back-and-forth conversation with me because, as mentioned, speaking to strangers is a completely foreign concept to me. I simply don't know what to do in that situation and just can't find anything to say at all, as I've gone years adapting to not socialising.
I corrected my lisp about two years ago through daily tongue exercises and practicing the “s” sound over a year, which was challenging due to many years of muscle memory. While I now have clear speech, years of isolation and minimal speaking have taken their toll, and I don’t know how long it will take to recover my social skills.