What Are Speech Sound Disorders?

Speech disorders can include difficulties in the following areas:

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Articulation disorder: speech sound errors can begin in childhood and can impact the way a person is understood. Signs of an articulation disorder include distortions or substitutions of individual speech sounds, such as "s" or "r". 

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Dysarthria: a motor speech disorder caused by muscle weakness. This can occur following injury or illness. Signs of dysarthria include slurred or mumbled speech, quick or slow rate of speech, and difficulty moving the mouth (lips, tongue, jaw).

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Apraxia: a motor speech disorder caused by difficulty speaking due to trouble sending messages from the brain to the mouth muscles. Signs of apraxia include difficulty imitating and saying sounds, being able to say something the right way one time but the wrong way the next time, and difficulty putting lips and tongue in the right position to make sounds as intended.