How to make the “l” 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.
• 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 “l”, 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 “l”, there should be a rumbling or voicing.)
• Blow out air  over the sides of the tongue.

Tricks and Tips for producing the “l” sound:

• A fun and tasty way to teach the child where to put their tongue for a “l” production is to put some Nutella, peanut butter, sour candy gel, or any other creamy food they enjoy on the bumpy spot.  (Rubbing a sucker over the target area also works!)  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!
• Have the child pretend they are ignoring you by putting their hands over their ears and saying “la la la”