The guide describes a summer inservice program designed to help professionals involved with autistic or autistic-like students. The first section describes the training approach, and the Special Study Institute, which included a camp experience for children with autism. (Sample agendas for the 2 week sessions are included.) Planning and preparation considerations for the camp program and for the related staff training are detailed, and three factors are emphasized: safety, independence, and fun. Actual experiences of two summer sessions are reviewed. The second section provides more theoretical and educational information. Issues in assessment, treatment, program organization, appropriateness of service, and curriculum and method are explored. An in-depth look at assessment for autistic students notes the impact of typical characteristics on the assessment process and proposes a two-phase assessment approach. (Test summaries are included.) Social skills are the topic of a chapter that presents four case studies. The assumptions and applications of the behavioral approach with autistic children are described. Design and implementation of an individualized curriculum are examined, with emphasis on assessment of cognitive abilities, chronological age, socialization, communication, and behavior. New perspectives on the centrality of communication skills and on approaches to promote those skills are presented. A final chapter traces the experiences of parents from the initial diagnosis to the child's adolescence and suggests eight responsibilities for professionals in their relationships to parents of autistic children and youth. (CL)