Discourse topic management is discussed within the framework of a functionally based, pragmatic approach to language. The multiple parameters of topic management are described in terms of a multidimensional model of topic coherence, and the interaction between these parameters and linguistic and cognitive knowledge is discussed. Problems are examined in terms of the effects of discourse-, linguistic-, and cognitive-level difficulties on the topic parameters. A method of assessment across all parameters and in terms of the interaction with the other domains of knowledge is discussed, and intervention principles and techniques are presented.