Laughter is for Everyone

  Laughter is the best medicine.  Everyone likes laughing and joking with friends is part of our social dialogue.  Children begin learning about humor from the time they are toddlers.  They start by noticing that using items for things they are not meant to be used for will elicit a laugh.  They learn that the element of surprise will also cause people to laugh as they enter their toddler years.  A Child will repeat these actions over and over learning about humor along the way. Children with learning disabilities mimic these behaviors as well. Children on the autism spectrum are not as in tune to the reactions to these behaviors, but they will pick up on these reactions in time as well, it is usually later.  They do have a sense of humor just a bit different than others. 

    As children grow and develop language, their ability to understand and use humor grows.  They will hear a joke and want to repeat it over and over again or try to rearrange it, not quite understanding the nuances of how the humor works.  This is where children with learning disabilities can have difficulty.  If a child has difficulty with word relationships, analogies, comparisons or opposites, many early simple jokes can go over the child’s head. They know it is a joke, but do not quite understand why it is funny.  Encourage their exploration of the humor in a safe environment, by role playing how to tell jokes in social setting. Take time to explain the jokes to them.  Often special needs children will repeat the same joke over and over to the same friends to the extent that it will become annoying to them.  Help the special needs child develop the boundaries for the social setting and develop enough jokes to entertain their friends. 

    While our children are mastering the skill of humor, their peers most likely will have already mastered this in the past.  Be sure to monitor the situation so that the child does not become the entertainment, rather than his jokes.  It is a fine line the kids walk between being attentive to our kids and being on lookers to the special kid. We want our kids included, not put on display.  To insure this, it is imperative that we as care takers, role play with the children how to interact and how to set the boundaries.

  Watching a young person explore their developing sense of humor can be fun and exciting.  It is an important part of fitting in with peers.  Having joke books available, sharing jokes and riddles with kids is a fun way to become close with your kids.  It is part of growing up for all kids.

For more information you may want to start here:

http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/view/911/0

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/health/805-understanding-the-language-of-friendship.gs?page=2