The Power Of Laughter
by Gary K. Palmer, Brigham Young University
Everyone has a unique laugh, unique because they are the only person who laughs that way. I know some people who giggle, some who snort, and some who chuckle. My laugh is loud, because I also talk loud, and I usually end up taking lots of deep breaths because I can't breathe when I laugh! I tried to change my laugh on my mission so I could come across as calm and collected, but serving with Tongans only made me laugh louder and longer!!! But the time has come for me to change my laugh.
My cute Autistic boy that I teach, we'll call him Tristin, learns how to do things by mimicking and mirroring others. He is only able to do things after watching me or copying what the others are doing. It's been so much fun to teach him sign language, but sometimes he won't remember what to sign so he'll sign something he does remember. For example, after I give him a piece of candy, we're working on how to sign THANK YOU. Sometimes when I do give him the candy, he'll look at me because he knows he's supposed to sign something, but since he doesn't remember what, he'll sign NAME. Hahaahha- he's so innocent, it's adorable!!! Anyways, he learns how to act by watching others so he'll mimic how his sisters walk, or how they are sitting, and if I'm shaking my leg (a nervous habit of mine!) he'll shake his leg, too. If you ever want to know what kind of faces you pull or what hand motions you use while you talk, sit by him and he'll mirror everything you're doing!! And that's why I'm going to change my laugh......
Tristin doesn't talk and one of the teaching techniques I use is music, to help him hear sounds and mimic those sounds to hear his own voice. We try humming, singing along, and he absolutely loves music so whatever song is on, he always has a huge smile on his face. This past week we've been practicing making different noises and putting a finger on our throats because it helps to understand the different sounds (every activity is a hands-on learning process). He is so cute when he does it and 2 days ago, he learned how to make gurgling and growling noises!!!! It's the funniest thing in the world- imagine a 13 year old boy, holding his throat, and growling as loud as he can, while smiling and laughing the whole time he does it! Now that he's learned how, he won't stop making the sounds and it's so funny to watch him that I start laughing. And that's when he started mimicing my laugh. OH MY- I never knew I sounded that bad!!! =) He gets really high pitched and even does the deep breath intake!!! HAHAHA!!!! So I'm done- no more laughing like I normally do. I tried to giggle but can't, I only chuckle when I'm fake laughing, it hurts to snort, and now I'm running out of options of how to change. I Googled how to change your laugh, but ended watching the funniest videos on YouTube, so I've posted some of those laughs on here. If you have any other suggestions, PLEASE send them my way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HttF5HVYtlQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_mBLWpdwnI&feature=related
3 comments:
Colton laughs hard like that when he's tired. It's his pre-meltdown phase.
Don't you dare change your laugh! It's so infectious and funny, and life around here would be very dull without your laugh!
If you change your laugh, I can no longer call you Carol Makita, amen. :)heheh
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