Motor Speech
Motor speech is how the brain tells the mouth muscles—like the lips, tongue, and jaw—what to do to make speech sounds.
Some children have trouble getting those messages from their brain to their mouth. Even though they know exactly what they want to say, the words might come out unclear, sound different each time, or feel hard to say. This is called a motor speech disorder, and it includes things like Childhood Apraxia of Speech and dysarthria.
Signs your child might have a motor speech difference:
● You or others have a hard time understanding them
● The same word sounds different each time they try to say it
● They seem to get “stuck” or visibly struggle when trying to talk
● They didn’t babble much as a baby
● They understand a lot but say very little
● They get frustrated when trying to talk
At Speech Ally, our team is trained in two trusted methods—PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) and DTTC (Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing)—which help kids learn how to move their mouths in the right way to say words. We do this gently, through play and connection, never pressure.
Speech Disorders
Articulation and Phonology
Articulation and phonology refer to how children learn and use speech sounds to form words clearly and understandably.
Some children have trouble saying certain sounds or patterns of sounds, which can make their speech hard to understand. This might be because they haven’t yet learned how to move their mouth in the right way (articulation) or because they use sound patterns that are different from typical speech development (phonology). These are common in early development, but if they stick around too long, they can make it harder for others to understand your child.
Speech should become easier to understand as your child grows. By age 3, most of what your child says should be understandable to family. By age 4, people outside the family should be able to understand them. All speech sounds should typically be mastered by age 7.
Typical speech sound development looks like this:
● 1½–2 years: b, p, m, w, h
● 2 years: n, t, d, f, y
● 2–3 years: k, g, ng
● 3–4 years: s, z, v
● 3–5 years: l
● 3½–6 years: sh, ch, j
● 4–6 years: r, th, blends (like “sp” or “tr”)
Signs your child may need support with articulation or phonology:
● Their speech is hard to understand, even after age 3
● They leave out or replace sounds in words (e.g., “tat” for “cat,” or “wun” for “run”)
● They get frustrated when others don’t understand them
● Their speech sounds different from other kids their age
At Speech Ally, we use a gentle, play-based approach to help kids learn new sounds and feel proud of their progress. We work at your child’s pace, celebrating every step forward while supporting their confidence and joy in communication.
Fluency
Fluency refers to the natural flow and rhythm of speech—how smoothly words come out when we talk.
Some children experience breaks or disruptions in this flow. These may sound like repeating parts of words (“I-I-I want that”), stretching out sounds (“sssssome”), or getting “stuck” before a word comes out. This is called stuttering, and it’s a common and natural difference in how some people speak.
It’s important to know: Stuttering is not caused by anxiety, parenting, or doing something “wrong.” Many children go through a phase of disfluent speech, especially when they’re learning
lots of new words. For some, stuttering may stick around longer and benefit from support.
Signs your child may benefit from fluency support:
● Repeating sounds, syllables, or words (e.g., “ba-ba-baby”)
● Stretching out sounds (e.g., “ssssoup”)
● Getting “stuck” or pausing a long time before speaking
● Showing tension in the face, neck, or body when speaking
● Avoiding certain words or changing what they want to say
● Getting frustrated or anxious about talking
At Speech Ally, we support children who stutter in a way that honors their voice—not trying to “fix” it. We help them build confidence, advocate for their communication needs, and speak in a way that feels good to them. Therapy is individualized, client-based, and always focused on connection, not correction.