Dysarthria is a speech disorder caused by muscle problems. We use many muscles to talk. These include muscles in our face, lips, tongue, and throat—as well as muscles for breathing. It is harder to talk when these muscles don’t work well. Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder. This happens when brain or nerve damage changes the way your muscles work. It can be mild to severe. Children and adults can have dysarthria. There are many reasons people have trouble talking. Dysarthria can happen with other speech and language problems.