How to make the “j” sound:

• Pucker your lips like a little kiss.
• Place and hold the tip of your tongue towards the top of the mouth (called the hard palate.  If your child can produce the “d” sound, tell them they want the tip of their tongue to be a little further back than that)
• Turn on your voice ( voice is the rumbling in your vocal folds.  For example, have your child/client place their hand on their/your neck during the production of “j” and “s”, and have them feel the difference between the two.  In the production of “j”, there should be rumbling or voicing.  While in the production of “s”, there should be no rumbling or voicing.)
• Release the air trapped behind your tongue forcefully!

Tricks and Tips for producing the “j” sound:

• If the child can already say the “ch” sound, have the child say the “ch” sound but tell them to “turn their motor on” or “make the buzzing noise” in their throat while doing it.  The only difference in the production of “ch” and “j” is whether or not it is voiced.
• A fun and tasty way to teach the child where to put their tongue for a “ch” production is to put some Nutella, peanut butter, sour candy gel, or any other creamy food they enjoy on the target spot.  Once the child has felt the spot a few times, have them try to blow out air while still having the tongue touching the target spot.

• Have the child say the “d” sound super fast over and over again.  After they have said it a few times, tell them to try and pull their tongue backwards.  (I like to use a lasso and cow analogy with the tongue being the cow and using an imaginary rope to pull it back.).
• Have the child say “d” and  “zh” right after.  For “zh”, think about what the middle “s” in treasure sounds like. “Lets make a sound sandwich!  We are going to say the “d” then the “zh”.  Using pictures to show the combination of “d” + “zh” is helpful as well. 
• Challenge  the child to see who can jump the highest while saying the “j” sound.