"It Was a Joke For Him and a Life For Me": A Discourse on Disability Related Humor among Families of Children with Disabilities

Abstract

This study examines closely in what ways six families of children with disabilities considered themselves insiders and in what ways and context they perceived themselves as outsiders with regards to disability humor. In-depth interviews, participant observation, and selective cartoon analysis were used to collect data. The data were analyzed qualitatively with the help of the constant comparative method. In terms of the findings, different phases through which disability humor passes (Haller & Ralph, 2003) were identified among families from this study. If the disability was the one that they as a family encountered in their familial circles, they were able to move past protest humor toward a humor of equality. That is, they achieved regular lives via their displays of familial humor interactions and thus "demystified the disability experience" (Haller & Ralph, 2003, p. 5) for themselves and other families, as the audience. Within this framework, children with disabilities had not only the right to participate in familial discourse on humor but also an equal status in humor appreciation and production. However, if the disability humor was about a disability other than the one they were personally acquainted, they largely perceived such humor with "sympathetic and lamentable attitudes" (Baum, 1998, p. 3), indicating that they still remained steadfast in their "ableist" conceptions of disability and, thus maintained a "politically correct" orientation toward other disabilities and humor.

Laughing Back: A Phenomenological Study of Disability Humor Using Culturally Responsive Methodologies

“…During these strained interactions, the disabled person must find a way to acknowledge the difference while at the same time showing that it is not important, so that the interaction can progress. Families of children with disabilities allow their children to dictate their own perceptions of humor, and this humor may make their nondisabled peers more comfortable around them (Rieger, 2005). Making a joke is one way to reduce tension or anxiety in the nondisabled person.…”

“…However, outsiders need to be respectful about how they joke about disability; some jokes can only be told by disabled people (Rieger, 2005). When disabled people laugh at themselves, they develop a rapport, which allows communication to overcome stigma (Chapple and Ziebland, 2004).…”

“…For example, Deaf comedian Terry Galloway uses humor to combat oppression and attitudes of xenophobia against disabled and queer people (Bingham and Green, 2016). Disabled people and their families have found humor to be a helpful way of managing stress and as a way to protest the dominant culture's ideas about and misconceptions of disabled lives (Rieger, 2005). In fact, research in the field of psychology suggests that using humor to cope with stressors and trauma is positively associated with increased selfesteem.…”

“…Radical disability comedy makes light of disabling encounters and environments, not disabled people themselves. In this way, disabled people have moved from being laughed at to laughing at themselves to laughing at disabling situations and nondisabled people (Rieger, 2005).…”

“…This gives audience members a more accurate insight into the disability experience, fueled by real insider knowledge (Lockyear, 2015;Reid, et al, 2006). Furthermore, families of children with disabilities consider themselves insiders to humor related to their children's impairments and help their disabled children create their own unique humor (Rieger, 2005). In addition, empowering humor can make disability less mysterious to children and help promote inclusive practices in classrooms (Haller and Ralph, 2003;Smith and Sapon-Shevin, 2008).…”