Humor as a Variable in the Process of Change

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Humor and Children

From: Adam Presswood, Student/Fontbonne College, St. Louis, MO
Date: 10/19/03
Time: 11:36:53 PM
Remote Name: 209.248.48.48

Comments

I have been working full-time as a speech implementor at a local school district for about a year and a half now, while completing my education at night. Your article was very interesting for me, because the one thing that I have not felt free to do in front of the children is to laugh. I am so afraid that they will misunderstand the source of my laughter, and will end up with hurt feelings. My articulation clients have been working on their individual sounds long enough that they will occasionally laugh at their mistakes, neutralizing any negative potential that my own laughter may or may not have. With my language and fluency clients, however, this has not been the case. Those kids who are language disordered often miss certain potentially humorous situations because of a lack of comprehension, and, as you mention in your article, humor must be spontaneous in order to be effective during therapy. Therefore, I can't go back and explain to the child what might have been funny, because the moment is gone.

I probably feel the most uncomfortable smiling or laughing with my fluency clients(I only have one so far this year). I am afraid that they will misinterpret the slightest little thing as a negative reaction to their stuttering. Also, my current client, even though he has a very positive self-concept and is highly intelligent, does not discuss his stuttering lightly. Rather, when he talks about his speech, he is very serious and thoughtful. I suppose that this has rubbed off on me, as I now take a very serious and thoughtful approach to his therapy. Do you feel that humor is a more available and effective tool when working with adolescents and adults than with children? Also, what advice can you offer with regard to introducing more humor into my therapy so that it is not misinterpreted. Thank you.

Adam Presswood


Last changed: September 12, 2005