Which of the following is a hallmark of Speech Sound Disorder?

The hallmark of Speech Sound Disorder is indeed the persistent difficulty articulating phonemes. This condition primarily affects an individual's ability to produce sounds accurately in speech, which can lead to challenges in communication. The disorder is characterized by issues such as substituting one sound for another, omitting sounds, or distorting sounds when speaking. This impairment can impact social interactions and academic performance, as effective communication often relies on the clarity of spoken language.

The other options describe difficulties related to different domains. Inability to comprehend social cues pertains to social communication disorders or aspects of autism spectrum disorder rather than speech sound issues. Abstract reasoning deficits are more related to cognitive disorders or developmental delays and do not specifically indicate problems with phonetic articulation. Lastly, difficulty in understanding written text aligns more with reading disorders or language processing difficulties, which are distinct from the articulation challenges present in Speech Sound Disorder.