The term 'had a speech defect' can be summarized by the 6-letter word 'lisped'. A lisp is a speech disorder in which a person has difficulty pronouncing certain sounds, usually s and z. It is caused by incorrect placement of the tongue when forming these sounds. People with a lisp may also have difficulty articulating other sounds, such as th. Lisping is a common speech disorder among children, but it can also affect adults.