Irony and sarcasm

[Andre007]

Is it possible for an aspie to understand sarcasm and irony?
I think I'm an aspie. But I can understand irony and sarcasm. No aspie can understand irony and sarcasm?

Sorry for my English, I'm Brazilian.

 

[jacinto]

I think I understand it. I often shoot for it when talking to people but then forget to smile or whatever to cue that it's a joke, and this can cause issues. Even if I remember to though, I feel like whatever was humorous is diminished if I actually have to add a facial punctuation mark: "Get it??? See, I'm smiling. That means it's funny! You may laugh!"

 

[Peter Morrison]

I am not sure, but I believe that sarcasm from someone on the spectrum can be seen as a direct insult due to the way the comment is said. I can only get away with sarcastic remarks when I am with people who know me well. They know I don't mean any harm to anyone. I'm unsure if ASD is responsible for border-line rude comments, but I know we are casual about our thoughts and we share them freely. Our sarcasm is more like a brisk slap in the face.

 

[Sid Delicious]

With sarcasm, you have to use body language or laugh to ensure the other person knows it's a joke. The words on their own will just sound insulting.

 

[MrSpock]

Some aspies have no trouble with either, some can't process one or the other or both at all, some are somewhere in between.

Many aspies have trouble with the non-verbal clues that typically go along with these things in people who aren't aspie. Some of us have trouble processing conversation in real time, but it seems to me that most of us have average or better language processing ability.

It seems to me that sometimes sarcasm is supposed to be insulting, that is the point of it. It can be a tricky thing to use humorously.

 

[Nervous Rex]

I can understand irony and sarcasm, and even use them.

It did take me longer than most to figure it out, though. I can recall several social interactions where I realized after the fact that someone had said something sarcastic or too subtle for me to understand at the moment. I guess over-analyzing things after the fact is my way of compensating for how poorly I do at real-time interactions.

 

[Catana]

Just one more stereotype that won't go away.

 

[Tom]

There is a tendency in autism to have difficulty understanding humor, but its far from universal. It happens enough to be mentioned as a possible symptom but may actually only occur in a minority. Its probably related to difficulties understanding social interactions, literal thinking, etc.

 

[Judge]

I have no problems comprehending irony. However sarcasm can elude me, particularly in text only.

 

[Khendra]

I often take sarcasm literally, especially face-to-face -- but if it's very obvious, I'm able to understand and decode it. I'm just significantly worse at detecting it and understanding it than most NTs.

 

[Bolletje]

I live and breathe sarcasm. Don’t let the stereotype fool you.

 

[tducey]

I have had difficulty with sarcasm before.

 

[WittyAspie]

My username speaks for itself.

 

[Ezra]

I'm more autistic than aspies and I do alright with getting sarcasm and irony. One forum even voted me the most sarcastic member once.

 

[Progster]

Me? Sarcastic?? No way!!

Yes, I can do sarcasm and understand irony, but I'm not so good at picking up on it and get caught out a lot.

I remember there was a witty university professor who spoke in a flat kind of way without much intonation or facial expression. Most of the students found him boring, but I really liked him and found him quite funny, and I think that this was because I was paying more attention to his actual words, whereas the other students were paying much more attention to facial expression.

 

[SusanLR]

I understand and pick up on both.
Irony is a milder word that doesn't seem to be insultive, where sarcasm is usually meant to be
a bit more insultive.
I don't use sarcastic remarks for humour, I use them for little zingers aimed at someone for something they have said or done.

 

[Bolletje]

Me? Sarcastic?? No way!!

Yes, I can do sarcasm and understand irony, but I'm not so good at picking up on it and get caught out a lot.

I remember there was a witty university professor who spoke in a flat kind of way without much intonation or facial expression. Most of the students found him boring, but I really liked him and found him quite funny, and I think that this was because I was paying more attention to his actual words, whereas the other students were paying much more attention to facial expression.

This is why I love deadpan comedy delivery.

 

[Ezra]

This was just posted to another forum I'm on: "When the F are Ferris and Ezra coming back? I need sarcasm in my life."

 

[tree]

I tend to think of sarcasm as a defense mechanism,
and as such, don't understand why people who frequently
use it seem to believe it's something to be proud of.

Although, defending oneself is a useful skill, attacking
people with so-called "scathing wit" seems less, so,
to me.

 

[Ezra]

I don't try to be sarcastic. It just comes out that way. Usually when I am making a comment about something. People who talk about my sarcasm seem to find it amusing rather than me being rude or whatever.