Joan: Seany says, “Sometimes when my daughter is having a meltdown the added stimuli of a 

reward overloads her. Can I just use the tag as a conditioned reinforcer for a brief period until my 

daughter is calmer? The stimuli of the reinforcer does not overload my daughter.”

Martha: Oh, I think that’s fine. What you can do is just put the reinforcers in a little bowl for her 

later. That action of you giving her the treat or the toy or whatever the reinforcer is, certainly that 

action could be disturbing to her. 

Joan: What about not using any primary reinforcers? 

Martha: Well, if that works, fine. TAGteach is all about what works. If it works, that’s great 

because it means it’s a really powerful reinforcer. You could give her something after she begins 

to calm down. When you’re in the moment, you just do the best you can. 

Joan: Everybody likes your magazine trick.

Martha: Yes, you can rip off any old magazine cover from any old magazine and just cut a little 

slit at the crease.

Joan: We should start selling those in our store!

Joan: Thank you everybody for coming, and we will see you all next week.

Martha: The tantrumming boy video was courtesy of The Autism Site. The Isabella videos were 

courtesy of her mother Helena. Many thanks to Helena and Isabella for that.