1. My spectrum of missing the joke, sarcasm or hidden meaning
ACTIVITY A. YOUR WRITING PROMPTS PAGE

2. What happens when I do not understand?
Do you take people’s statements seriously and never question if they mean it or not? Can you figure this out or does someone else tell you?
Do you apply the same understanding of one saying or instruction to all situations regardless of the context? How might this affect people’s reaction to you?

3. Event: When do I miss the joke, sarcasm or hidden meaning?
Can you pick up on someone’s body language? What things do you usually notice? Have you been made aware of anything you tend to miss?
What happens if you are mono-processing? Does this mean your understanding will be even more delayed as you also have to process the information and then work out the use of language?
What about central coherence? Can you put all the individual words/sentences together to interpret them and then pick up on or make a joke? Will you have to focus on interpreting the words spoken at the expense of any deeper analysis to identify the hidden meaning? Or does it not even occur to you that there is a hidden suggestion?
Does your rigid thinking style mean you get stuck on one perspective/possibility so that you don’t notice the potential for a joke/sarcasm? Do you know when someone is making a joke or laughing at you? Can you spot the difference or would you need help to figure this out?

4. Meaning: What does this mean for me?
Can you use previous experiences to figure out when someone is being sarcastic or joking?
Are you able to actually work out what they meant or just know this is what they are doing without really understanding? How does that impact on your ability to build or deepen friendships?
Do you feel anxious in case you get put under pressure or someone points out your different thinking style?
Are you often the last person to get things? Are you surprised to realise things which everyone else understood? Has anyone ever tried to intentionally confuse you? How did you figure this out? Could someone do this without you realising what is going on? What implications might this have for you?

5. Strategies: What can I do to understand the joke, sarcasm and hidden meaning?
How could you monitor someone’s behaviour to make sure you are not being taken advantage of or being made fun of?
Is there a family member or a friend, teacher you trust who would be willing to check out if someone is ok to be with?
Could a teacher provide you with a series of examples in different contexts to understand how the same things can mean something different depending on the circumstances?