A farmstead community in Northwest Ohio, called Bittersweet Farms, serves as a habilitation program for autistic adults, involving 20 residents ranging from profoundly retarded to high functioning and 15 developmentally delayed adults who are part of an agricultural day program. The community is designated as an Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded, allowing residents to be supported by state Medicaid funds. Residents are provided opportunities to learn all tasks associated with housekeeping, cooking, animal care, farming, horticulture, and woodworking. Skills training emphasizes task analysis and carefully programmed teaching using positive reinforcement. The director and staff provide daily programming for the residents while consulting professionals (including the Behavior Management Team and the speech and language consultant) meet regularly to consider special issues. This paper describes farm activities, social life of residents, staffing, methods of encouraging social interaction, and training methods. (11 references) (JDD)