One hundred interactions involving 4,231 communicative acts between classroom personnel and multiply disabled students were videotaped. The resulting data were coded and analyzed, and showed that: (1) conventional communicative forms (e.g., speech, manual signs, conventional nonverbal expressions) were selected to convey information to students 60% of the time, while non-conventional forms (e.g., manipulation, touch, pause in movement, depictive action, non-depictive actions) were selected 40% of the time; (2) students who were the most able communicators were most frequently addressed using conventional forms; (3) non-conventional forms were used most frequently to convey directives; and (4) the majority of teacher communications utilized the auditory modality. Because of the limited communicative abilities of multiply disabled students, it is suggested that teachers consider greater use of more concrete, nonverbal forms in interactions with their students. (Author/JDD)