Speech sound disorder (SSD) is defined as

• A. A disorder that exclusively affects language pragmatics.
• B. A motor speech disorder limited to articulatory movements without perceptual issues.
• C. Any combination of difficulties with perception, motor production, and/or the phonological representation of speech sounds and speech segments that impact speech intelligibility.
• D. A subtype of reading disorder characterized by dyslexia.

Answer: (C)

Speech sound disorder is best understood as a condition where difficulties with producing, perceiving, or representing speech sounds affect how clearly someone can be understood. This means it can involve motor production (how the lips, tongue, and jaw move to form sounds), perception or discrimination of sounds (whether a listener can tell sounds apart), and the mental representation of speech sounds and sound patterns (the rules and patterns the person uses to organize sounds). Because SSD can involve any combination of these aspects, it often impacts intelligibility across different contexts. It’s not about language pragmatics (how we use language in social interactions) and it’s not the same as a reading disorder like dyslexia, though these can co-occur.