April is National Humor Month! Did you know that laughter is the best medicine? Just goes to show you can’t go wrong with celebrating – humor is one of the most essential qualities to human life! Our Social Skills Training Program is highlighting how to use humor this month.
Many children with ASD are very literal. They often do not understand figurative speech, idioms, jokes, or sarcasm. Sometimes they can get upset when others are laughing at a joke, and they think everyone is laughing at them.
Hidden Rules:
- Repeating the same joke over and over makes people annoyed and think you are not funny.
- Be careful about telling jokes that make fun of other people or can be considered rude.
Targeted Skills:
- Perspective Taking
- Initiations
Sample Activities:
- Comic Relief: Jokes are a good way to teach the double meanings of words or puns such as “ I went to a seafood disco last week… and pulled a mussel.” Practicing jokes at the dinner table or during a talent show can help prepare a child for telling jokes to friends. Jokes are great icebreakers to make people feel comfortable and humor is a great way to connect with others and build friendships. Warn the child that telling the same joke over and over to the same people ruins the fun.
- Zone Idioms: Read aloud idioms and have client guess what emotion and zone those idioms describe. Example: Why the long face?- Blue zone/ On cloud nine- Green Zone/ butterflies in my stomach- Yellow Zone/ about to explode- Red Zone. Explain the meaning of the expression and have clients describe a circumstance that made them feel that way. This activity can be turned into a game by dividing groups into teams to guess the idiom’s meaning and zone.
- Read Funny Books: Sitting down and reading a few funny books can get your childs’ creativity going. This can be useful when teaching your child how to write a joke. After the book, you can discuss what made them laugh in the story. Just pointing how what is funny to them can help them make someone else laugh!
April is also known for Earth Day which is on the 22nd. Learning to reduce, reuse and recycle is key. We can all help restore our earth. Here’s a video from the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with some wonderful ideas.
We hope you have a wonderful April!