This course is designed to explore the challenges that students with exceptionalities might face from the earliest stages in their literacy and language development. Pre-service teachers will identify the impact of these challenges on communication and literacy development as they learn how to assess students and use that information to plan, prepare, and present highquality instruction and intervention effectively. Students will review specialized instructional materials, and study research-based strategies to support these needs. A particular emphasis is placed on both early reading difficulties as well as understanding both typical and atypical foundational language development. In this course, students will learn the difference between students who are nonspeaking and nonverbal and observe learners as they focus on speech development, communication strategies, and assistive technology.