When my 7-yr-old daughter Elise was diagnosed last year with ADHD and Asperger's, I started reading all I could about autism and its "spectrum" of disorders. The first thing I learned was that Elise's weird behaviors are typical for an Aspie (I use that term affectionately.) My husband Ian had been diagnosed with "severe ADHD" at 12, and I was surprised to read that it's considered an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Reading further, I became convinced that Ian has Asperger's, too... that weird ear-flicking thing he used to do before he realized it bugged me? A classic "stim" (self-stimulating) behavior. When he said that he "hates small talk?" Not surprising for Aspies, who find the subleties of social interaction a mystery. It took me months to convince my hubby that I'd unlocked the mystery of his obvious uniqueness, but after doing some reading on his own, he couldn't argue...he's a classic Aspie all the way: brilliant, hyper, and persistent but distractable, but also socially awkward and mostly unable to decipher subtext.
I continue to read whatever may help me get inside the heads of my Aspie loved ones, but I am frequently frustrated to read the opinion, even from supposed experts, that people with autism "have no sense of humor." Those of you who have read my article about how Ian and I met know that I fell in love with him after reading his comedy science-fiction novel, Spindle, which even ten years later is the funniest book I've ever read. Ian is a cartoonist and comedy writer, and by far the funniest person I've ever known! And Elise (also a budding cartoonist) has also demonstrated a more than heathy sense of humor. So why on Earth would autism experts keep insisting that people with autism lack a sense of humor!?! I asked the expert -- Ian. "It's because," he mused, "we laugh at different things than you do. We have a sense of humor; it's just different." Personally, I've always maintained that Ian's comic genius is partly a result of his "different" brain. The great comic George Carlin says that "all humor is based on surprise." Well, Ian's humor is consistently surprising to us NTs (neuro-typical people) because we can't predict what people who think so differently are going to say. Ian speculates: "You know how they talk about 'thinking outside the box?' Well, we Aspies don't even know there is a box... box? What box?"
So maybe that's it. But I'll tell you this...don't let anyone tell you your ASD child "doesn't have a sense of humor" or "won't ever understand humor." It will be your hilarious journey to learn to understand their humor!
I think Ian's hilarious book and his bizarre but riotous comic strip, Poorly Drawn Theatre, should be the final answer to whether or not people with autism can be funny...a resounding "YES!!!"
PS - You know the old "interrupting cow" joke? Elise came up with this new version:
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Interrupting manager.
Interr--
GET BACK TO WORK!
(8^D) Karen
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Comments: 4
i am also convinced that my late husband was also an aspie. and he could entertain people, in fact that was his occupation. after he had a stroke and was in the hospital/nursing home setting, though, the staff didn't understand his humor and kept writing that he was not saying appropriate stuff, thinking it was part of his stroke. on the contrary, it was his sense of humor, his way of entertaining himself and others. i saw the joke but they didn't. THEY didn't have a sense of humor, lol.
we think/say the unexpected and that's what humor is.
but sometimes other people don't see the joke. we have to learn what other people find funny.
Your remark about the 3 Stooges reminded me of my son's favorite game when he was 1. I'd take a Marge Simpson figure and pretend it was walking along the arm of the couch, then she'd get to the end and fall screaming to the floor. He found it hilarious every time. No matter how differently someone thinks, humor based on fear of harm is so visceral it appeals to everyone. Elise used to make her baby brother laugh by lying on the couch and rolling off onto the floor, of course doing a frightened-sounding "Whooooaaaa!" the whole way down. He'd laugh so hard. That was her first comedy "bit." She called it "Baby Comedy." She seemed to instinctively know how to get a laugh from a preverbal child. Hmmm, empathy AND comedy...I love it when she disproves the stereotypes. (Actually, she's got tons of empathy. When I had cancer, she decided to become "Nurse Elise," and she'd check on me every few minutes when I was chemo-sick.) ASD or no ASD, children vary wildly and nothing can be predicted.