A motor speech disorder is often associated with neurological and nervous system factors which affect the ability to plan and/or execute the physical movements needed to produce specific speech sounds and movements of speech. Factors that are often part of motor speech disorders are respiration (breath control), phonation, articulation, and resonance which lead to difficulties producing clear speech.

Slow, uncontrolled muscle movements characterize dysarthria. Whereas difficulty planning and sequencing speech movements are associated with apraxia.