joke compulsion. Enough is Enough....

[Guest guest]

This is what I was attempting to say many posts back!

Jennie AS

joke compulsion. Enough is Enough....

You know the jokes are dumb and tasteless, so you don't lack empathy or insight, you just say you can't help saying them. Either get some counseling, or take up writing for tasteless magazines: ).

I wish you luck getting it resolved.

This is great advice. Channel your obsession to a market that shares your interest or seek counseling if you really want to change your behavior because it is interfering or a threat in your relationship,

Just me.

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[Guest guest]

At 11:20 AM 5/25/2008, you wrote:

This is what I was

attempting to say many posts back!

Hi Jennie,

I did feel that some of the contributions were very insightful,

especially 's explanation on how AS and Non-AS tend to store and

retrieve bits of information. Good one ! I saved that post - it's a

keeper!

The person who began the thread (a real member, BTW) obviously has a lot

of difficulty grasping how others will interpret communication that is

meant only in the spirit of sharing. This is a very real problem for a

handful of our members here. Some have simply ceased to post. Others like

(you are a real trooper, ) continue to try to explain to the

rest of us what the thought processes are (and get roundly clobbered for

it at times, LOL)

This group really is like a microcosm of what's happening out there, and

hopefully a safe environment for us all to share, to sometimes make

mistakes, be chastised in a kindly way, to learn and to move on.

To me, this was an important subject because it highlighted another

difference - and problem area in AS/NT communication - and that is of the

sharing of humour, the timing, the ability to discern when and where it

is appropriate, and the seeming compulsion for some to blurt out these

things. I think that might be related to a mild form of Tourette

Syndrome, where the sufferer blurts out inappropriate things when they

are nervous. A friend with a child with TS said that it's also very

cultural, and she used a hypothetical example of a society where the word

" broccoli " might be taboo, the sufferer would, under

stress, probably shout out " broccoli! broccoli! broccoli! " I do

believe with many of us on the spectrum, including myself, there is a

shadow syndrome of Tourettes and some studies have found this as well.

My complaint about some of the more into the spectrum people I know (not

all do this, just some) is that humor and wit seems only to be shared at

the expense of others. It seems that this is the only way that some can

get a laugh, if the joke, or the " humour column " or

" clever wit " is directed at an individual or group that is

perceived to be hopelessly ignorant, and therefore deserves to be

derided. I do not like people who feel the need to feel superiority over

others and accomplish cutting others down. I know one AS person, I am not

making this up, who has this thing about truck drivers, and as

intelligent as this person is, at least one time per conversation, this

person's opinion about the low IQ of truck drivers will work its way into

the conversation.

I like jokes that poke fun at life's absurdities, or have a surprise

ending. I like a good naughty joke if it's clever, and not disturbing,

and not denigrating towards any particular group, but simply plays on the

follies and foibles of human beings. I also like groaners, limericks, and

plays on words.

A common problem that NT spouses report is that their AS partner doesn't

" get " others humour, although the AS partner often uses

inappropriate humour themselves, so I thought this was a good exploration

of the subject.

I liked the jokes too. Some levity for my life right now which is VERY

heavy duty - fortunately not in my immediate family - but in the way a

very abusive marriage in my past has very suddenly reached out and

grabbed me after three decades, to severely impact upon me today.

So I got into the act with joke telling - I'm guilty as charged.

I'm really, really sorry if my 2 jokes offended anyone. It just seemed

like a good time to have a little fun.

I have been very busy but was hoping to find some research I read years

ago, about now the autistic tend to store information in large chunks, in

support of what said. Again, , good post!

In the meantime, if interested folks can find Jay Ingram's " Talk

Talk Talk: Decoding the Mysteries of Speech " this is probably the

best layman's book I've ever read. Look here for a small

description of the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Talk-Decoding-Mysteries-Speech/dp/0385473834

Even though it does not refer to autism (a pity) much is explained! Below

my signature, I'll paste in parts of a " review " of this book I

wrote for ASPIRES friends in 2001.

- Helen

I just finished reading an interesting book by Jay Ingram, entitled

" Talk, Talk, Talk " . Jay Ingram is better known in Canada, for

all you American and Overseas friends. In " Talk, Talk, Talk "

Jay discusses how human language developed from our earliest modern human

prototypes, and how we learn language today. He takes some rambling side

trips into realms of the science of the brain, anthropology - and even

religion, when he attempts to interpret the Biblical Tower of Babel, and

the phenomena of " speaking in tongues " . It's all fascinating.

It's often told in narrative fashion, and all laid out nicely in laymen's

terms.

The book does get a little tedious at times (although perhaps only in my

view) such as when the authour dedicates several pages to describing all

of the vocal inflections, etc. necessary for Canada's beloved

(departed) sportscaster, Hewitt, to enunciate his famous

oft-repeated line, " He shoots! He scores! " Still, I

think you would all find this book a good read. It was published last

year.

Disappointingly, Jay Ingram does not cover autism, and I thought this was

a major omission to what is otherwise a good read on the subject of

language development. However, I will assume that while he is aware of

its significance in discussions about language, that autism is such a

weighty subject that in order to do justice to it, his book would have to

be divided into at least two or three volumes! Mr. Ingram did cover some

interesting old and new case studies that, with our understanding of ASDs

at ASPIRES, many of us would conclude some are examples of high

functioning autistics. As Mr. Spock (from original " Star

Trek " ) would have said, " Fascinating! " But enough from me

for now.