Since 20% of all college students experience communication apprehension (CA), the developmental student, distinguished by lower than average academic scores, may also experience this inhibiting fear of communication. Characteristics of the developmental communication apprehensive student indicate that a program for overcoming communication apprehension should include individual assessment for each developmental student and a structured alleviation curriculum. Alleviation of communication apprehension, whether related to conditioned anxiety, negative cognitive appraisal, or skills deficit, may be approached through systematic desensitization, cognitive modification, and goal setting. Assessment inventories for types of communication concerns, such as the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24, may influence a decision as to whether or not high-scoring students might be candidates for the developmental CA alleviation program. Use of alleviation techniques, such as systematic desensitization cognitive modification and goal setting are helpful when applied according to individual concerns. Appropriate materials to help alleviate CA, such as Robert Mager's "Goal Analysis," or Gerald M. Phillips and Nancy Mitzger's "The Reticent Syndrome: Some Theoretical Considerations about Etiology and Treatment," are available. (Twenty-nine references are attached.) (RAE)