Main description:

With ready-to-use lessons and strategies, What's So Funny?: Humor-Based Activities for Social Skill Development provides readers with tools to help their clients improve their emotional intelligence through humor. Occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, special educators, behavior therapists, and caregivers will benefit from the implementation of these strategies.

What's So Funny? contains a curriculum of more than 50 activities that emphasize two main ideas. The first is that humor (linguistic or physical) can be taught to many individuals with autism spectrum disorder or other disorders through explicit instruction, exposure to various types of humor, and embracing the individual's preferred sense of humor. The second is that humorous activities can be used to increase social engagement, which can sometimes be a challenge for those with developmental disabilities.

What's So Funny? includes activities essential for individuals who:

Appear to have a very limited concept or basic developmental level of humor
Need to improve their understanding of socially appropriate humor
Lack understanding of appropriate times to use humor
Are nonverbal, have limited expressive communication skills, or use augmentative communication devices
Have a difficult time initiating social interactions with their peers

With a flexible program that can be used for either small groups or individuals from ages 7 years to adult, What's So Funny?: Humor-Based Activities for Social Skill Development is a relevant and easy-to-use resource. Discussing a variety of types of humor on different developmental levels, from slapstick to word play, this program improves participants' abilities to connect and engage with others through the powerful tool of humor.

Contents:

Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
Chapter 1 About This Program
Intended Audience
Intended Participants
Benefits of the Program
Research-Based Strategies
Chapter 2 Background Information
Order of Lessons
Social-Emotional Development
Humor Development
Humor Use in Individuals With Developmental Disabilities
Teaching Humor
Chapter 3 Physical Comedy: Face and Body
Lesson 1: Funny Faces
Lesson 2: Funny Face Acting
Lesson 3: Funny Body
Chapter 4: Physical Comedy: Costumes and Impressions
Lesson 1: Funny Costumes
Lesson 2: Impressions
Chapter 5 Physical Comedy: Slapstick
Lesson 1: Introduction to Slapstick
Lesson 2: Messy Slapstick
Chapter 6 Incongruency
Lesson 1: Funny Animals
Lesson 2: Funny People
Lesson 3: Funny Sizes
Chapter 7: Prank
Lesson 1: Food Pranks
Lesson 2: Water Pranks
Lesson 3: Bug Pranks
Lesson 4: Gross Pranks
Lesson 5: Money Pranks
Chapter 8: Sound and Word Play
Lesson 1: Sound Effects
Lesson 2: Rhyming Words
Chapter 9: Jokes
Lesson 1: Rhyming Jokes
Lesson 2: Homophone Jokes
Lesson 3: Silly Sound Jokes
Lesson 4: Knock-Knock Jokes
Chapter 10: Three W Questions of Being Funny. 171
Lesson 1: What Is Funny?
Lesson 2: Who Can You Be Funny With?
Lesson 3: When Can You Be Funny?
Index