Introduction

Anna Devere (Host): Our next award is for Healthy Humor IDEAS. Roberta Gold has been selected to be the 2024 recipient of the IDA’s Healthy Humor IDEAS Award. She’s been chosen because, as a recreation therapist, professional speaker, consultant, author, Certified Humor Professional (CHP), and the current president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, she’s made it her mission over the past 30-plus years to empower people to have a more positive outlook, seeing the humor instead of the horror in the world.

Roberta Gold’s Acceptance Speech

Hi, I’m Roberta Gold, and I am so excited to be the recipient of the 2024 Invisible Disabilities Association’s Healthy Humor IDEAS Award. Wow, this means the world to me. Humor and laughter have always been a big part of my life. They have helped me deal with challenges, illnesses, and accidents, and they’ve also helped me in my work.

Breaking Down Barriers Through Laughter

I’m a recreation therapist, and I remember a time when I was working with a patient and I don’t know why, but we just—I started becoming very silly. Okay, I get silly a lot, and we were laughing together. When she looked at me like, “Really, I’m the patient and you’re the therapist, Roberta?”, we laughed some more.

Later that week, she stopped me in the hallway and said, “Roberta, can we talk? I don’t feel comfortable talking to my doctor.”

I realized then what laughter had done. It had taken away the patient/therapist roles and we bonded; through laughter, we became equals. Through that laughter, we bonded in a way that allowed me to work with her and help her through her challenges and issues in her life. And I do this with everybody I meet.

A Shared Mission and Partnership

In fact, I am honored to be the president for the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, an international organization that I have been a part of for over 30 years. It has been near and dear to my heart; they’re my family away from my family.

With the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, we have formed a partnership with the Invisible Disabilities Association—a partnership that I have wanted for a while now. I am so excited that we have joined, because humor and laughter are what’s needed in the world. They help us be more resilient so that we can deal easier and in a more relaxed way with some of the issues that we have. And I know personally the issues I have.

Gratitude and Looking Ahead

Being the recipient of the Healthy Humor IDEAS Award is just the icing on the cake for me. I thank you so much for this. I look forward to our future together, and I wish you a beautiful evening. Thank you so much.