I love to make people laugh. There’s something about the sound of laughter and the connection with others that just makes everyone happy! Our students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices feel the same way and love to connect with peers by sharing in something funny. Jokes are a great way to do that!

I’ve been visiting a local school district where a very new AAC user, Jacob, attends classes. Jacob loves to laugh along with his peers and will do anything to get a giggle. In brainstorming some appropriate ways to help him accomplish this, the team thought of adding a few knock-knock jokes to Jacob’s DynaVox V.  With very little practice, Jacob learned the sequence of several jokes (including a conversational starter, “Can I tell you a great joke?”) that the team programmed within his existing pages.  At lunch on the first day at school armed with his new humor, Jacob made a real splash!  Watching his peers truly get a kick out of these jokes, and the twinkle in Jacob’s eye as he shared the laugh, was fantastic!  It was even better to watch the peers get in on the fun – sharing other funny jokes they know and even making up a few silly ones on their own.  Using several components of InterAACT (core word strategy, my words, keyboards), Jacob was able to contribute to the silly suggestions with zany punch lines for his friends.

Lunchtime continues to be a treat for Jacob and his friends. Choosing new jokes for his V has been a fun way for Jacob to customize the content of his device and surprise the other students with new humor each week!