This study examined the impact of directive behavior requests on childrenʼs participation in communicative exchanges. Two parameters of maternal behavior requests were studied to determine their relationship to childrenʼs level of responsiveness. Subjects were 24 two- to three-year-old children with Down syndrome and their mothers. Behavior requests were coded according to their relationship to childrenʼs activities and level of developmental difficulty. Childrenʼs responses were rated according to how well they complied with their mothersʼ requests. Results from regression analyses indicated that the quality of childrenʼs responses was highly associated with the degree to which their mothersʼ requests related to their current activity. Further, children produced the highest levels of response when behavior requests were completely related to their current activity and at or below their current developmental level. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for language intervention procedures that are intended to merge communication and learning theories of language acquisition.