This digest discusses various types of communication disorders, their incidence, the learning difficulties associated with them, the special case of English language learners, and the educational significance of communication disorders. Communication disorders may result from many different conditions such as oral-motor difficulties or language-based learning disabilities. Approximately 20 percent of all students with disabilities have some form of communication disorder. Common characteristics of students with communication disorders include difficulty following directions, attending to a conversation, pronouncing words, expressing themselves, or being understood. Children learning English as a second language have special communication problems but should not be considered as having a communication disorder unless symptoms of the disorder are present in both languages. These students may be capable of high academic achievement if they learn the classroom's social, language, and learning patterns. (Contains 17 print, organizational, and Internet resources.) (DB)