How to make the “y” sound:

• Raise the tip of the tongue towards the top of the mouth.  The middle portion of your tongue also needs to rise, but usually by raising the tip of the tongue, the middle portion will follow.
• Turn 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 “y” and “s”, 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 “y”, there should be a rumbling or voicing.)
• Breathe out and let the air flow over the the raised portion of the tongue and out the mouth.

Tricks and Tips for producing the “w” sound:

• Tell the child to smile as big as they can while saying “eeee” like the middle of “cheese”.
• Have the child hold the “eee” sound and then switch the “ahhh” sound they would make at a doctor’s office. Keep repeating between “eee’ and “ahhh”, and you should hear the “y” sound in between.
• Challenge the child to a ninja chopping contest.  Chop an imaginary block of wood.  Every time you chop, say “yah” like a ninja would!