Humour

Also called Jokes and AAC, Sarcasm on a device

Jokes, sarcasm and teasing on a device: slow, deadpan and often funnier for it. Nobody should have to be polite all the time.

What it is

Humour is jokes, teasing, sarcasm, silly noises, the well-timed rude word, and the look that says "you have got to be joking". It is how people show they are people. And it is almost entirely missing from most AAC systems, which are built by careful adults for careful purposes.

A person with a device that has "please" and "thank you" and no way to say "you're an idiot" to their brother is not being protected. They are being flattened.

Who it can help

Everyone who uses AAC, from small children learning that a wrong word is funny to adults who want to be the funny one at the pub. Families and staff who have never seen the person laugh at something they said, because the person has never had the words to say it.

It also helps understanding. Sarcasm and teasing are hard to read for some autistic people, and for them the entry is as much about spotting a joke as making one.

How it works

Timing is the problem and also the opportunity. A joke on a device arrives late, so the classic set-up and punchline can fall flat. What works instead is deadpan: a single dry word after a pause, a pre-stored line dropped at the right moment, a rude noise on a button. AAC users have been building a comic style around slowness for decades and it is genuinely funny.

Vocabulary is where to start. Comments like no way, seriously, boring, that's rubbish, and you wish. Names for people so that they can be teased. A page of pre-stored one-liners the person has chosen, and a button for a raspberry. Some synthetic voices can be sped up or pitched for effect; a person can pick a silly voice for a joke and switch back.

Modelling matters here too. If the adults around a person only use the device for instructions, the person learns that it is a tool, not a voice. If they use it to be silly, the person learns it can be theirs.

Getting started

This week, ask the person what they find funny and put five of those things on the board: a catchphrase, a word that always gets a laugh, a comeback. Ask a sibling for help; they know.

Model a joke on the system yourself, badly. Deliberately choose the wrong word and laugh at it. That gives permission.

Add a rude-noise button. Yes, really. It is the single most-used button on many children's devices and it teaches cause and effect, timing and social power in one go.

Where to get help

Communication Matters conference talks by AAC users are the best place to see AAC humour in action. 1Voice connects families with adults who use AAC and have opinions on this. National Autistic Society has guidance for autistic people on understanding sarcasm and idiom.