Can Autistic Children Make or Tell Jokes?
Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized22 May 2013
Anecdote
A student with ASD told me “Let me tell you a joke!” I gave her my 200% attention and said: “Go ahead!” But deep inside I thought that it will definitely sound like anything but a joke. Here is what she said: “A student went to school without doing his homework. When the teacher asked him why didn’t he do it, the student said: didn’t you tell me that today’s home work is a piece of cake! So, I went home and ate it.”
I am not quite sure if this is
It was interesting that the student asked me right after telling the joke, if she can have a piece of cake homework. In her eyes I could tell that she was trying to avoide doing homework, without having to eat it.
We know that one important trait of autism is being literal. But this student was able to take both perspectives: the “typically developed” (because she was laughing about eating the homework), and the “autistic” perspective (by being literal). She figured out that playing with words can be funny.
I was so happy that this child was communicating and socializing while telling me the funny joke.
What a joy to work with spectrum children. They really “think different”! They think out of the box! You can never get bored working with spectrum children.
I would rather say: It is a privilege to work with autistic children.
nadia shanab
Tags: autism, communication, flexibility, social interaction, tips
