This brief article reflects on some pitfalls inherent in the learning and teaching of segmental phonetic transcription. We suggest that a gestural interpretation to disordered speech data, in conjunction with segmental phonetic transcription, can add valuable insight into patterns of disordered speech, and that a gestural orientation should form part of the understanding and interpretation of the process of transcribing and the use of transcripts. We illustrate our discussion with data from a case of moderately to severely unintelligible speech produced by a boy aged 5;9.