Intended for parents and teachers, the manual offers guidelines for developing communication skills in severely and profoundly mentally handicapped children. An introduction helps the reader determine a suitable starting point and provides a description of early communication skills; Part II describes the five stages in communication development. A third section (the bulk of the document) contains 20 groups of activities for helping children to communicate. Each activity is outlined in terms of aim, suitability, materials needed, procedure, teaching hints, recordkeeping, moving on, and less difficult activities. Part IV reviews problems (such as children who are overactive) which prevent communicating effectively. A final section contains sample record sheets for noting children's progress. (SB)