Martha: So we’re ready for a very short Question & Answer period. So if you have more 

questions please type them in the Chat to Joan.

Joan: Theresa, do you have anything you’d like to say?

Theresa: No, I thought it was very self-explanatory.

Joan: I thought I saw a video of somebody have a tantrum in your car the other day. Was that 

you?

Theresa: Ha ha ha, 12 years of TAGteach and I destroyed it in one 10 second vine.

Joan: Kathy asked about recommendations about dropping to the ground as part of a tantrum. 

Her daughter drops to the ground during a tantrum.

Martha:  Myself, when I have that kind of behavior just turn my back; I don’t pay much attention 

to it. I would start tagging any behavior that would be a precursor to getting up. Or, just wait it 

out. You could tag Quiet Mouth, Appropriate Vocalization, or anything like that. Does she 

scream while she drops? 

Joan: She says it depends on how much attention she wants. The more attention she wants, the 

bigger the tantrum is. 

Martha: Well again, I think it’s a transition. You go from one stage to the next. 

What happens over time if you keep reinforcing and putting a lot more reinforcement into the 

child’s environment, you find that those things deteriorate slowly.  The bad behaviors fade away. 

That certainly happened with us. They can have really dramatic behaviors, so I would say just 

make sure those behaviors aren’t rewarded with parental attention or trying to pull her up to a 

standing position. I always kept my distance from my son, and that’s what I think is one of the 

great things about TAGteach in managing tantrums. You can do it from across the room. You 

don’t have to be close to the child. Many times what I would do is turn away; I would comb my 

hair over my face so it would look to him as though I wasn’t watching him, but I could still see 

him. Whenever there was a more productive movement I could tag and reinforce that. I also had 

a magazine cover and I cut a little slit in it so I could hold it up to my face and it would look to 

him as though was looking at this magazine. I could watch him through my little peephole, and 

as soon as there was a productive behavior I would reinforce it. 

Joan: We need some photos of that, Martha!

Martha: Those are my little tactics. I had to watch him and make sure I knew what he was doing, 

and still be able to tag at the right moment. I didn’t want him to know that I was observing him.