From nursery rhymes to playground jokes, scientists have long been aware of the importance humour plays in the development of children's language. The fun and educational benefits to be had...

From nursery rhymes to playground jokes, scientists have long been aware of the importance humour plays in the development of children's language.

The fun and educational benefits to be had from experimenting with new words and phrases has been denied to youngsters who rely on computerised speech aids.

Now, however, researchers at the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh have developed a software package which allows them to make up their own jokes.

Research shows children who rely on speech aids - such as the one used by scientist Professor Stephen Hawking - are often restricted in their language development.

Speaking children, meanwhile, use humour to experiment with words, improving their social skills in the process. This allows them to become more fluent in the language.

The new technology, known as Standup, lets children generate novel puns created by the software using dictionaries and information about words.

The system has been used by eight young people at Capability Scotland's Corseford School, near Glasgow. Over 10 weeks they regaled peers, staff and their families with jokes such as: "What do you call a spicy missile? A hot shot."

Ten-year-old Eoghan Cowan, suffers from cerebral palsy. His mother Margo, 42, said her son's ability to crack jokes and raise smiles had made a huge difference to family life.

"Eoghan has a great sense of humour, and sometimes it's hard for him to express himself, but this technology allowed him to make up his own jokes.

"It was great to see him joking - really fantastic.

"Children who don't have any problems take that ability for granted.

"It can be very frustrating for us because Eoghan is a very bright wee boy. Most of his difficulties are physical but, mentally, he is probably brighter than I am."

She said the family would sit around together exchanging jokes - something which had a huge effect on her son.

"We sat down as a family and told Eoghan our own jokes, and it made him feel special. Our jokes were perhaps a bit out of date because it's been a long time since I was in the playground.

"This had made a difference to our lives. There's been a real improvement."

She added: "Capability Scotland and Corseford School have been really fantastic, but it was only a trial and we would be really interested in getting something like this for his everyday life."

The system was developed with the help of teachers, therapists and adults who use voice output communication aids.

Graeme Ritchie, of the department of computing science at Aberdeen University, said: "The Standup software makes simple puns by looking for suitable patterns in the words and phrases which are available to it. In this project, the computer acts as a helper to the child, by letting them browse through joke forms, and try out words and phrases."

Annalu Waller, of the school of computing at Dundee University, said: "Many people who use communication aids tend to be passive communicators, responding to questions with one or two-word answers. This research shows the importance of providing individuals with novel language.

"It has been wonderful to see young people with complex communication needs taking ownership of puns and using them to take control of communication."