This paper lists practices recommended by the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Early Childhood concerning the promotion of communication skills in early intervention and early childhood special education programs for infants and young children with special needs and their families. The recommended practices to promote communication skills stem from the premise that intervention agents should be actively involved in teaching young children with special needs to communicate more effectively, via the use of strategies for assessing communication performance, strategies for selecting appropriate intervention goals, and strategies for teaching that address those communication goals. An introductory section defines communication, emphasizes the importance of communication intervention for all children with special needs, recommends the broad sampling of communication skills during assessment, notes the need for sensitivity to linguistic and social norms in assessment, points out that goal selection should be a collaborative process, and recommends the presentation of frequent opportunities for children with special needs to transmit and receive information in a multitude of ways. Thirteen recommended practices are then listed, within the categories of assessment practices, goal selection practices, and intervention practices. (JDD)