This paper presents a functional approach to assessment and associated program development for individuals with severe disabilities, with emphasis on informal strategies that target beginning communicative levels. In the first section, form, function, and context (three components of any communicative act) are defined and described. Three assessment strategies which scrutinize each of these components are then surveyed--these include interviews, observations, and analogues (in which a variety of variables are systematically manipulated to observe effects on communicative performance). The third section delineates the goals associated with form, function, and context which facilitate decision making. Concerns about utilization and dissemination of innovative assessment practices are addressed in the fourth section, including: (1) what is known about communication assessment practices for this population; (2) methods of disseminating the knowledge base to practitioners; (3) the role of "best practices" in dissemination and utilization; and (4) prioritization of assessment practices. Attachments include examples of communication interviews, an observational recording protocol, structured protocols for evoking specific communicative functions, and an intuitive analysis of variables relevant to teaching social greetings. (Lists 52 references and 13 additional resources.) (Author/DB)