Which type of disorder would affect someone’s speech sound production?

The correct choice focuses on motor speech disorders, which specifically impact the physical ability to produce sounds needed for speech. Individuals with motor speech disorders may experience difficulty controlling the muscles used for speech, which can result in imprecise or slurred sounds. Conditions such as dysarthria, caused by neurological damage or developmental issues, exemplify motor speech disorders, where the coordination of speech muscles is affected.

In contrast, fluency disorders primarily influence the flow of speech, characterized by interruptions such as stuttering. Voice disorders pertain to abnormalities in pitch, loudness, or quality of the voice rather than the production of individual speech sounds. Language disorders involve difficulties with understanding or using language, which can affect vocabulary or sentence structure but do not directly impair the physical act of producing speech sounds. Therefore, motor speech disorders are the specific type that directly impacts the articulation and production of speech sounds.