Speech Sound Disorders: What's Motor Got To Do With It?

Speech sound disorders (SSDs) are commonly viewed as involving impaired articulation
and/or phonological skills. Speech language pathologists working with individuals with SSDs assess the articulation of speech sounds and the coordination of articulatory
structures with other components of the speech mechanism, including the phonatory,
respiratory, and resonatory subsystems. The sound system of the language and the
rules that govern how phonemes are combined are equally critical for clinicians to explore. While the terms “articulation” and “phonology” provide clinicians with a framework for classification, children who are broadly identified with SSDs may also display characteristics of a motor speech impairment, which can obscure the decision making process with respect to both diagnosis and treatment. One such motor speech disorder is childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). The focus of this paper is to discuss motor speech deficits in children and to review research that aims to distinguish motor speech patterns in children with SSDs with and without CAS. We will also address the relationship between emerging speech motor and linguistic skills