Motor speech disorders

Hello little one! Today we're going to talk about something called motor speech disorders.

Do you remember how your mouth and tongue move when you talk or eat? Well, sometimes people have trouble with those movements and it can make it hard for them to speak clearly. Motor speech disorders happen when the way our brain controls our mouth and tongue movements gets mixed up or doesn't work the way it's supposed to.

There are a few different types of motor speech disorders, but let me explain the two most common ones called apraxia of speech and dysarthria.

Apraxia of speech is like when your brain tells your mouth how to make a certain sound, but your mouth just can't figure out how to do it. It's like trying to teach your little sister how to tie her shoes - you can tell her step by step, but she just might not be able to do it perfectly.

Dysarthria is a little different because the brain can't control the mouth and tongue movements as smoothly as it should. It's like trying to talk with a mouthful of peanut butter - your words might come out blurry or slurred.

Motor speech disorders can happen to anyone, but they're more common in adults who have had a stroke or who have conditions like Parkinson's disease. But don't worry, there are ways for people with motor speech disorders to work with speech therapists and other healthcare professionals to improve their ability to communicate.

So remember, motor speech disorders happen when our brain can't control our mouth and tongue movements correctly. But with some help, people with motor speech disorders can still communicate and express themselves to the world around them.