Which observation best distinguishes a motor-speech disorder from a purely phonological process issue?

• A. Inability to perform voluntary oral movements
• B. Stridency deletion
• C. Poor tongue mobility
• D. High palate

Answer: (A)

The key idea is recognizing whether the problem is with coordinating and executing speech movements or with sound patterns in speech. A motor-speech disorder stems from difficulty in actually moving the articulators—the lips, tongue, jaw, and larynx—so when someone cannot perform voluntary oral movements at all, it points to a motor issue rather than a pattern of sounds. In contrast, a phonological issue involves how sounds are organized and used in language; the person can move the articulators but uses altered sound patterns, such as omitting or simplifying sounds, which is not about an inability to move. A structural feature like a high palate may affect articulation but doesn’t by itself distinguish motor control problems from phonological patterns. So the observation that someone cannot perform voluntary oral movements best signals a motor-speech disorder.