Difficulties in processing humor have been associated with individuals with autism. The current study investigated whether humor comprehension and appreciation could be augmented in children with autism by providing contextual support suggesting that humor was to be expected. A verbally presented riddle task was used in which participants were assessed for their subjective ratings and comprehension of the materials. They were also filmed to record any smiling or laughing. Both riddles and control stimuli were presented with supporting verbal context and also without it. The results showed that (a) the greater subjective appreciation of riddles than of control stimuli was dependent on the provision of context for the participants with autism and that (b) context statistically equated these ratings of riddles between participants with autism and matched typically developing controls. However, context had no effect on comprehension or affective response. The results of the current study demonstrate that children with autism are, even in the most conservative interpretation, able to use verbal context to recognize verbal humor. This lays the foundation of possible interventions based on training sensitivity to context.

处理幽默的困难与自闭症患者有关。当前的研究调查了是否可以通过提供暗示幽默是可以预期的上下文支持来增强自闭症儿童的幽默理解和欣赏能力。使用口头呈现的谜语任务，其中评估参与者的主观评分和对材料的理解。他们还被拍摄以记录任何微笑或大笑。谜语和控制刺激都提供了支持性的语言上下文，也没有它。结果表明，(a) 对谜语的主观评价高于对控制刺激的主观评价取决于为自闭症参与者提供的背景，并且 (b) 背景在统计学上将自闭症参与者之间的谜语评级与匹配的典型发展控制相等. 然而，上下文对理解或情感反应没有影响。当前研究的结果表明，即使在最保守的解释中，自闭症儿童也能够使用语言上下文来识别语言幽默。这为基于对环境的培训敏感性的可能干预奠定了基础。即使在最保守的解释中，也能够使用语言上下文来识别语言幽默。这为基于对环境的培训敏感性的可能干预奠定了基础。即使在最保守的解释中，也能够使用语言上下文来识别语言幽默。这为基于对环境的培训敏感性的可能干预奠定了基础。