A review of the research on learning-disabled students suggests that these students often exhibit language deficits that are not readily obvious. These language deficits create problems in understanding social interactions and written and oral directions as well as problems in expressing ideas both orally and in written form. The term language delay is used to refer to many handicapped students, but it is not an appropriate description of all language problems. The term "disordered" better describes the learning-disabled student's language. The disordered language of the learning-disabled student is characterized by at least nine traits: trouble with word meanings, off-target responding, inaccurate word selection, difficulty with word finding, neologisms, referent errors, topic closure, use of immature grammatical structures, and disorganization and problems with sequencing. Several procedures exist for evaluating the language of a learning-disabled individual, such as transcribing and reading the student's oration rather than hearing it, or coding the student's interactions with others in his or her environment such as teachers and peers. (JDD)