The proceedings from a 1983 conference on severely handicapped and autistic persons are presented. Eight papers focus on research findings and on issues such as alternatives to punishment, employment opportunities, and curriculum content. The following papers are presented: "Employment Outlook for Severely Handicapped and Autistic" (P. Wehman); "What Should We Teach Severely Handicapped and Autistic" (J. Pierson); "Alternatives to Punishment: A Panel Discussion" (A. Hilton, D. Petersen, J. Pierson, and M. Carter); "The Effectiveness of Early Intervention: Mixed Reviews" (G. Casto); "Rate And Mastery Criteria with Severely Handicapped Learners" (C. Mason); "Self-Abuse, Self-Stimulatory Behavior Deceleration, Trial and Error" (K. McFadyean and D. Nelson); "Decelerating Abusive and Self-Stimulatory Behaviors While Simultaneously Accelerating 'On-Task' Behaviors" (J. Rammer and D. McCarthy); and "Accountability and Decision Making Using Single Subject Research Designs in Applied Settings" (A. Cossairt, J. Stellern, J. Jacobs, and M. Marlowe). (CL)