How to make the /d/ sound:

• First we need to place the tip of our tongue on the bumpy spot of our gums behind our front teeth. We call this spot the alveolar ridge.
• Have the child blow out air while lowering the tongue from the bumpy spot.
• Turning on your voice ( voice is the rumbling in your vocal folds.  Have your child/client place their hand on their/your neck during the production of /s/ and /z/, and have them feel the difference between the two.  In the production of /s/, there should be no rumble or voicing.  While in the production of /z/, there should be a rumbling or voicing.)

Tricks and Tips for producing the /d/ sound:

• A fun and tasty way to teach the child where to put their tongue for a /d/ production is to put some Nutella, peanut butter, sour candy gel, or any other creamy food they enjoy on the bumpy spot.  Once the child has felt the spot a few times, have them try to blow out air while lowering the tongue at the same time!
• Have the child pretend that their tongue is a finger and the bumpy spot is a door bell.  See how many times they can ring the door bell in 10 or 30 seconds!
• Have the child press down on the bumpy spot using their finger.  Often our tongues are curious creatures and they will inspect the area that was just pressed which happens to be our target area!
• Because the /d/ sound by itself sounds like a watch ticking, tell the child you want to see how many /d/ sounds they can make in 10 or 30 seconds.  If up to the task, challenge the client to see who can make more /d/ sounds in the given time! 
• To visually show the child how we explosively release air from our mouths to produce the /d/ sound, hold a piece of string in front of their mouths, and have them try to move the string with the release of air.  It is important to remind them to remember to use their voicing during this activity!
• If you have a board game that uses a spinner have the child see if they can move the spinner using the explosions of air from their mouths.  Note that the explosion of air from a production of /d/ is much softer than that of /t/.