The D sound is one of the earliest sounds a child says when learning how to speak. It is an alveolar sound made by releasing a burst of air out of the mouth while the tongue quickly drops down from the roof of the mouth. Scroll below to learn more about the D sound.
D Sound
The D sound is a voiced alveolar stop. It is a very common sound in the English language, and it is one that many children learn to say correctly as young as 2 years old.
You may often hear babies babbling with the D sound, saying “dadadada” repeatedly, and “dad” or “dada” is often a first word for many babies. If you’re looking for a way to practice saying this fun sound, you’ve come to the right place.
Are you looking for a way to work on the D sound with a child or client in speech therapy? Check out my Mega D Sound Activity Packet! It’s jam-packed with over 20 worksheets and activities to practice the D sound in isolation, syllables, words, phrases, sentences, reading, and conversation!
When Does D Sound Develop?
The D sound is acquired between 2-3 years old. Some children may continue to “master” this sound beyond the age of 3. If you have an older child who is still having difficulty saying this sound correctly, feel free to contact us or reach out to a licensed speech therapist for help.
For more information on when speech sounds develop, please refer to the Speech Sound Development post on this website.
How to Make the D Sound
The D sound is made by lifting the tongue tip up to the alveolar ridge and then releasing a burst of air while the voice is turned on. Here’s how to make the D sound:
- Tongue tip up. Place the tip of the tongue up on the ridge behind your front teeth.
- Release a burst of air. Allow air to build up behind the raised tongue. Next, release the air out of your mouth in a quick burst while the tongue quickly drops down.
- Voice turned ON. The vocal cords vibrate when saying the D sound. If you place your fingers on your throat and make the D sound, your larynx, or voice box, will vibrate.
If you’re interested in more in-depth information on the production of speech sounds, please refer to this post on Place, Manner, and Voicing.
How to Teach the D Sound
The D sound is a very fun sound to teach in speech therapy or at home. It can be a bit tricky to get the placement of the tongue just right, but here are some helpful ways you can teach or cue others how to say the sound correctly.
Keep in mind that it can be difficult to learn a new skill. Be sure to provide a lot of encouragement when teaching a child a new speech sound.
Verbal Cues
Verbal cues are things you can say to someone to help them remember what to do when making the D sound.
One way you can cue your child is by giving the sound a fun or “silly” name. When teaching the D sound, you can call it the “drum sound” or the “drumming sound” because the D sound sounds like a drumstick hitting a drum.
You can give other verbal cues to children by saying things like:
- “Tongue tip up.”
- “Let out a small burst of air.”
- “Make your tongue tip drum on the top of your mouth.”
- “Voice turned on.”
Visual Cues
A visual cue is something a child can look at that shows them how to make the T sound.
Flashcards or cue cards that show the placement of the lips, teeth, and tongue can be especially helpful when teaching children how to say speech sounds.
Here is a basic visual cue for the D sound:
Cue cards are also a great way to help children remember how to say each sound correctly. If you’re on the hunt for some bright and colorful cue cards, look no further than my complete set of Speech Sound Cue Cards here. They’re great for use in speech therapy and on the go!
Tactile Cues
A tactile cue involves using physical touch or some sort of sensory feedback to help a child produce a speech sound correctly.
To help teach the D sound, try placing a tongue depressor or lollipop up behind the front teeth. Tell the child to “touch the stick/lollipop” with the tongue to encourage them to lift their tongue to the correct spot.
You can also place your fingers on your throat while saying the D sound as a reminder to turn the voice on.
Tips for Saying the D Sound
Looking for some engaging ways to help teach the D sound to children? These are my favorite activities to do when helping to elicit the D sound.
Drumming D Sound
Pretend that the roof of your mouth is a drum and your tongue tip is a drumstick. Tap your tongue just like tapping a drum! You can also drum out a beat on a toy drum and try to match your D sound to the beating of the drum.
Sticky Spot
Place a small amount of creamy/sticky food (peanut butter, Nutella, marshmallow fluff, etc.) on the alveolar ridge (this is the roof of the mouth right behind the front teeth). Lick it off with the tip of the tongue to get the tongue in the correct placement for the D sound.
Ding Dong!
Pretend that the roof of the mouth right behind the front teeth is a doorbell. Use the tongue to “ring” the doorbell over and over again!
Activities to Practice the D Sound
Are you looking for a fun and engaging way to practice the D sound? This MEGA D Sound Activity Packet is full of 20 worksheets and activities to practice the D sound in a variety of ways. It also includes data sheets and informational handouts to help elicit the D sound.
This resource is extremely comprehensive and is the absolute best to practice the D sound in speech therapy, at home, or at school.
D Sound
The D sound develops between 2 and 3 years old. If your child is not correctly saying the D sound beyond the age of 3, you may want to reach out to a speech therapist to determine if their speech sound development is on track.
Looking for other great resources from The Speech Guide? Check out these other great posts:
Looking for some fun games to play while in speech therapy or working with your own child at home? These are the best games for speech therapy (they’re also great to have in your game collection at home as well)!
