Up to 75% of children with cerebral palsy (CP) may have dysarthria a motor speech impairment thatnegatively impacts speech intelligibility and naturalness. Despite the overwhelming need the evidence baseguiding intervention for dysarthria associated with CP is extremely limited. As a result speech-languagepathologists must resort to using intervention techniques that are based on the adult dysarthria literature arenot specific to the underlying impairment and do not take into account the unique developmental issues facedby children with CP. A critical barrier to the development of effective evidence-based intervention is the lack ofobjective information regarding respiratory function during speech production in children with CP. Therespiratory system is the most commonly targeted speech subsystem in the treatment of dysarthria for childrenwith CP. Observational studies from the 1950s indicate that a majority of children with CP have respiratorydeficits such as shallow inspirations that contribute to their dysarthria. Despite advances in respiratoryscience there are little to no objective data about the functional capacity of the respiratory system to supportspeech production in children with CP. Additionally current clinical practice relies on auditory-perceptualanalyses of speech production to base intervention decisions and determine progress. However auditory-perceptual data do not provide information about the underlying impairment in respiratory function duringspeech production in children with CP or the mechanisms of change following a particular intervention. Withouta quantitative and direct understanding of respiratory function during speech production in children with CPand the impact of common intervention techniques on both respiratory function during speech production andglobal speech production outcomes (e.g. speech intelligibility and naturalness) we have a limited ability toidentify children who would benefit from respiratory intervention to choose intervention targets and to facilitatelasting change. The first specific aim of this proposal is to quantify respiratory function during speechproduction in children with CP. The second specific aim of this proposal is assess the effects of increasingloudness a common intervention technique on respiratory function during speech production and globalspeech production outcomes in children with CP. This technique though often used has very little supportingevidence. The key innovation of this proposal is the systematic examination of respiratory kinematic pressureacoustic and auditory-perceptual data collected during connected speech production in children with CP. Theexpected outcomes of this proposal will provide: 1) quantifiable characterization of respiratory function duringspeech production in children with CP and 2) phase I evidence regarding the effectiveness of an interventiontechnique commonly utilized with children with CP increasing loudness. This proposal has the potential to spura paradigm shift in how we develop and implement interventions for children with CP by providing thefoundation on which to base intervention decisions.