This guide is designed to help teachers and parents help handicapped children to acquire the mechanics of language and develop ways of communicating with others. The text covers: (1) establishing objectives for language mastery; (2) birth and development of language; (3) contributions and limitations of the child's environmental context; (4) specific handicaps, such as visual, auditory, and central nervous system; (5) speech production; (6) sign language and graphic symbols communication; (7) use of nonverbal communication; (8) electronic and computerized aids to speech; (9) evaluation methods and tools; (10) general principles of language-development aid; (11) perceptive and psychomotor aid; (12) daily language practice; (13) speaking to children; and (14) getting children to speak. A bibliography lists approximately 40 items in English, French, and Spanish. (JDD)