Aspies and Sarcasm

[Divrom]

So, it's often said that people with Aspergers don't grasp sarcasm. But I'm not sure why.

In my own experience, it's not true. I can be extremely sarcastic.

However, my experience aside, I don't know why Aspergers would lead anyone to be *less* sarcastic. Presumably, the thinking is that we don't pick up on the subtle cues and facial/tonal gestures that tell us someone isn't being serious.

Yet, we also have a great grasp of language.

For me, I think I actually see far more cues and am aware of far more possible meanings to a sentence. So, perhaps that's the problem? Perhaps we see and intuit more that NT, so it's difficult for us to narrow down to one possible meaning?

Anyone have thoughts on this? Is anyone aware of research on this topic?

 

[gailt915]

Yet, we also have a great grasp of language.

For me, I think I actually see far more cues and am aware of far more possible meanings to a sentence. So, perhaps that's the problem? Perhaps we see and intuit more that NT, so it's difficult for us to narrow down to one possible meaning?

Anyone have thoughts on this? Is anyone aware of research on this topic?

I agree! There seem to be so many different ways to interpret one sentence, let alone an entire conversation. I can never tell what the speaker really means, and usually choose the wrong intent. Which can result in confusion or worse in anger. And what if they were being quite literal and mean exactly what they said, all the while I'm trying to interpret what was said into something they did not mean?! I do this a lot! Does not always end well!!
Don't know if research has been done, but it would be interesting to participate in such an experiment....

 

[Pella]

I think its that we don't pick up on the tone and such of other people, its hard to determine what their intention is behind what they are saying when it could have more than one meaning. Sometimes I think I know what they are saying but I don't want to assume. And sometimes if it is sarcastic its rather rude.

 

[christianmother27]

I think its that we don't pick up on the tone and such of other people, its hard to determine what their intention is behind what they are saying when it could have more than one meaning. Sometimes I think I know what they are saying but I don't want to assume. And sometimes if it is sarcastic its rather rude.

I carry on a lot of sarcastic online conversations where hearing tone is of course impossible. When I am sarcastic I usually say it in a completely normal tone of voice too and my husband usually is the only one to pick up on my sarcasm. Most other people completely miss it. I find that infinitely hilarious.

 

[SallySlips]

I can be sarcastic, but I have a hard time picking up when others are being sarcastic. A lot of times I end up genuinely hurt or angry because I've misunderstood someone's sarcasm.

 

[Divrom]

It seems to me that this might be like other issues that Aspies are meant to be lacking in, e.g. libido and empathy. As far as can tell, they actually seem to occupy the extremes. So, I know some aspies who don't get irony at all, whereas others are the most sarcastic people I know. I doubt there are many in the middle.

The reason I find this an interesting topic is because if we could figure out *why* it is thought Aspies don't get sarcasm, then maybe it would also explain why some are very very sarcastic. My hunch is that it has something to do with the layers of communication.

I can be sarcastic, but I have a hard time picking up when others are being sarcastic. A lot of times I end up genuinely hurt or angry because I've misunderstood someone's sarcasm.

I think that's me too. I am extremely sarcastic and I like ironic comedy when I know that's what it is (e.g. Frasier). But I often miss insinuations, etc.

 

[Bay]

I am also sarcastic, and usually with a straight face as well. Usually the only people that know I am trying to be funny are people that know me well. Others often think I am being rude/mean/nasty. When that happens I am always horrified that I have given the wrong impression. However, I am just not able to be amusing in the ways that other people often are. For instance, I am a terrible story-teller and cannot deliver a joke at all. But I can often see through ******** (it fails the "logic test") and am prone to call it out through sarcasm. Some people appreciate this quality in me, others are offended by it and think it is mean-spirited, which is not my intent, of course. Honestly, you would think I would drop it as it has gotten me in such trouble over the course of my life, but I seemed to be hard-wired for it.

On the other hand, I often cannot tell when someone is being sarcastic. My family thinks it's funny that I so often ask, in a perplexed voice, "Are you serious?"

 

[Flinty]

The way people treated me when I was younger, I've reached the point that I often just assume that everything is sarcasm. This is why I don't spend much time in public.

 

[Jacki Cucinotta]

There is definitely some research which implies that Aspies have difficulty in figurative language such as sarcasm and humor. There's a footnote on a Wikipedia article which links to a citation of Tony Attwood's (one of the most prominent researchers on the topic of Asperger syndrome) 2007 book The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. Again, I must emphasize that there is no 100% certainty that this is true for all Aspies. For example, I am an Aspie and I understand sarcasm very well and tend to use it in my everyday life with my closest friends, though I wouldn't use it with everyone because I don't want to run the risk of saying anything that someone might find offensive or strange in their eyes (my humor is very witty, reliant on puns and potty humor, and sometimes conversational topics such as the fiscal cliff debate). If there is any correlation between the understanding of humor/sarcasm and Asperger syndrome, it would be weak because the presentation of signs, symptoms, and characteristics of AS are not the same for every person.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

I've been told I have a dry, serious kind of humor. I guess I would make a good observational comedian lol.

I don't have trouble picking up sarcasm but reading this thread makes me think of when I was trying to learn computer programming. When I was trying to code I would see a multitude of different ways of approaching the problem at hand which meant that it became difficult to program a computer for me because I ended up getting confused by all the choices and then the choices would get mixed up and it just became a huge mess.

When thinking of language I often think of it as being like a star burst. When I look at a sentence I see so many different interpretations. Most of the time I can pick the correct response. But I find it interesting to look at say a comment on a forum and think of all the different options for interpretation. I see it as a burst of information in my head and I then have to sort through and pick a response. That's probably why a lot of us get confused with social interaction ... our brains see too many options.

 

[hojita]

I'm sarcastic all the time. But I have an extremely difficult time picking up when others are sarcastic. Unless the tone used makes it painfully obvious to me and is combined with a silly facial expression or something. I'm ok at picking it up with my family but everyone else is hard for me to read like that.

 

[Undiagnosed]

I think you have to go back to when you were a little kid. I know that now I understand sarcasm and probably use it sometimes too. But that has been learned over the years of being around people and observing. I remember being a little kid and not understanding why anyone would say anything for any reason other than to convey a particular message that needd to be comunicated for a particular purpose. This would exclude small talk, randome meaninngless chit chat, sarcasm, and jokes. When I observed these types of comunication amoungst others it puzzled me.

EXample... I was about 11-12 and was around some same age cousins. The cousins had a young brother. The little brother was takeing a drink from one the the my age cousins cup. The other my age cousin said to the one who's drink he was drinking out of something abut little kids drinking and leaving backwash in the drink. I think there was some back and fothe sarcasm between the two about that. Non of it made sence to me. Why would such a thing be necessary to say? (remember I only thought of comunication as a way to convey necessary information). I rmember being puzzled and asking my Mom why my cousin had said that. My Mom said something like 'O she's just messin whith her'. Saying something to 'mess with' someone made no sende to me. (remember I only understood comunication to be for relaying a message for a necessary purpose)

I have used the example before about being in kindergarden and takeing a doll in for show and tell. the teacher asked me abut some ink markes on the doll. I told her my little sisters did it. she said... , "well they'r just little monkeys arn't they?" I was really confused as to why my teacher would think my sisters were monkeys. i told her 'no theyr people'

Of course now I understand when I hear people 'messin' with someone. And if someone calls a little kid a little monkey I know they don't really think the kids is a Monkey. But this has been olearned by obaserving people over the years. Now I call my ltittle grandbaby anything from my little punkin, little monkey, a little fart head lol.

so yea I can compleatley understand why one would say an aspie would not understand sarcasm. They are talking about me. I think they are not saying that it can't be learned but that it dosn't come naturally in us like others.

 

[buckyboy14]

I'm not especially sarcastic myself, and I'm lost when it comes to understanding it. I've even had teachers make fun of me because I didn't know if they were sarcastic or not.

 

[The Penguin]

I am not good understanding it at all and sometimes i feel the person making fun of me.

 

[Kari Suttle]

So, it's often said that people with Aspergers don't grasp sarcasm. But I'm not sure why.

In my own experience, it's not true. I can be extremely sarcastic.

However, my experience aside, I don't know why Aspergers would lead anyone to be *less* sarcastic. Presumably, the thinking is that we don't pick up on the subtle cues and facial/tonal gestures that tell us someone isn't being serious.

Yet, we also have a great grasp of language.

For me, I think I actually see far more cues and am aware of far more possible meanings to a sentence. So, perhaps that's the problem? Perhaps we see and intuit more that NT, so it's difficult for us to narrow down to one possible meaning?

Anyone have thoughts on this? Is anyone aware of research on this topic?

Growing up i had a friend throughout middle school that was very sarcastic, so although i wasn't good at picking up on it at first i got good at it. However, i'm bad at picking up on it if its not really obvious and its not someone i know very well. Like with my supervisors at my part time job - i see them a few days a week, so i can't tell if they're joking or being serious a lot of the time. This leaves me quite perplexed and upset cause then i just assume the worst. I can also use sarcasm myself, though not very often or very well. People I'm not close to seem to misinterpret my attempts as me being serious half the time.

I think as the years have gone by i get better at picking up on cues, but at the same time as my life got more complex (ex. - having to get a job) i also got worse in some areas. Or at least not as good as in other situations.

 

[Harrison]

I can be sarcastic, but I have a hard time picking up when others are being sarcastic. A lot of times I end up genuinely hurt or angry because I've misunderstood someone's sarcasm.

I can be incredibly sarcastic but as Sally said above, I can miss it coming the other way.

 

[Sheogorath]

I basically use sarcasm 24/7. Ever since I discovered it, it became my main tool to handle with human stupidity. Ironically enough, I never understood it when other people were using it. So my sarcasm is really a one way street.. Sometimes I make a sarcastic joke, and when another person responds sarcastically to that joke, I take it serious..
"I scraped my knee"
"Oh, maybe we should amputate it"
"Yeah, let's get a knife"
"What.. Really?"

 

[Tyler Ford]

I never know what another person's intentions would be. I pick on a few facial cues but not that many and I don't know whether a person is being sarcastic or actually telling me the truth. I hate being confused most of the time. ._.

 

[theblitz6794]

Disclaimer: I'm still trying to understand myself and I'm only 20 so apologies if I'm making it difficult to bear with me here.

I've always stood out from others (presuming I'm on it of course) on the spectrum due to sarcasm. I sarcast like a group of INTJs (well, I am an INTJ though). Anyhow, I often find myself not completely sure if I'm being sarcastic/ironic or serious. People who know me well pick up on my way of communication overtime and are able to understand it, I think, so it's not completely disorganized or anything. Besides this I think (as does my psych) I fit mild ASD/aspie quite well (diet, forcibly learning social skills, and having parents with excellent social skills as a role model have made me able to blend in to social groups a lot further than aspies/ASDs seem to be able to go).

So how common is it to find someone with an ASD and a love of sarcasm or is it even possible and I should look elsewhere for self understanding?

 

[Cali Cat]

I don't know about others, but I'm as sarcastic as all get-out. Always have been. I don't think all Aspies conform to a strict list of traits. I've got enough traits that I know I'm on the spectrum, but I don't have every one.