Many two-year and four-year colleges are facing the task of instructing students who are underprepared. In the field of speech communication the problem is compounded because some students are not only academically deficient but are also communicatively apprehensive. Several courses of action must be taken to help lessen the problem. Eighty-six percent of colleges provide special services for academically disadvantaged students. However, only 6.8% provide speech communication assistance, though 57% of speech communication departments indicated in a survey that such services should be offered. Self identification, standardized tests, specifically developed deficit testing tools, and interviews are used to identify students in need of assistance. Proposals for dealing with communicatively apprehensive students and lists of materials presently available to use in developing a help program conclude the document. (SRT)