Martha: We have another question here. “I would like to know more about targeting as a conditioned response for autism. I understand how to use targets in teaching, but it seems there is something different, perhaps more game-like in using targets as a conditioned response to encourage collaboration and relaxation. In a couple of videos I’ve seen moms go back to Touch Your Nose or Stick Out Tongue.”

Touch Your Nose was a very common fallback for me with my son. It’s used like a fallback position for a point of success when something is too difficult at the moment.

Question: “Is there a target that is more appropriate for school settings and group homes?”

Martha: We were not quite sure if it was meant as a target as an object to touch, such as a target stick or a toy, or target as a “target behavior,” as in something simple and fun that can deliver success and reinforcement to the young adult. We have some suggestions for this. And of course, as always, the first thing to do is to observe the young adult and make note of things or activities that he or she might like as fallback targets for success. These should be things that are easy for the young adult to do. For the school, we have some suggestions for things you can have ready at a table if you’re working on more academic or functional instruction. It would be ideas for table activities: touch and place activities, sorting activities, Pencil In Cup, Marker In Tray, sorting objects by shape, color or type, stacking blocks, pennies in a cup, counting out objects, counting out 1, 2, 3 nickles or dimes, and drawing or writing activities on sheets of paper.

As long as these are simple things that the young adult can do, they could be available for him or her as backup activities. If you notice stress, or the instruction is becoming a bit too much for that person at that time, pull these out and tag and reinforce the learner for doing them. And, if you’re out in the community, which happens with young adults, say in a store or in the van, here are some ideas for activities that you could perhaps do with the child if they are easy for that child: reciting cell phone numbers or addresses, reciting song lyrics or spelling easy words, practicing easy opposites, asking easy questions. We always like to make it easy, so you can say, for example, “We are going to the park. Where are we going?” Or, “Jake is in the back seat. Who is in the back seat?” Make the questions easy to answer and tag and reinforce the correct responses. You can make funny faces together, and tag and reinforce all of these. So, these are our recommendations for the types of things to do. Really, it would be great to have a whole repertoire of these fallback activities to do with the child when the learning or setting is becoming too intense.   

Does anyone have questions or comments?

Joan Orr: Seany had a comment.

Seany: It was in relation to the last question with words. I’ve noticed, the more my daughter does, especially in reference to what I’m doing, she’s now starting to say words: words that describe actions, like, “Did it. Do.” And she’s putting them in context with things, because I’m using them with TAGteach as a reward. For example, after she’s knocked down the blocks, I’ll say “Did it.” Now she’s starting to say it with the words. We’re hoping that in the future we can show her an action, and have her look at it and say what we’re talking about.

Martha: That’s wonderful. That is just so amazing, and I’ve seen the videos and heard her say, “Did it, and Do,” and it’s just wonderful. She is, as you say, using them in the right context, so there is so much in her mind. There is so much that she is seeing and observing and understanding. It’s a matter of giving her the ability to bring that out, and that’s what I see in the videos with Tink.

Seany: She’s also saying No and Yes quite a lot too.

Martha: That’s fabulous. That is so important because then you can start to communicate. Do you want to wear the pink t-shirt, Yes or No? She can start having choices. So those are all powerful words. Yes and No are powerful words.