AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
South Porcupine's Stuart Duncan and his sons Tyler, left, and Cameron, have taken a mutual love for a video game and turned it into a safe space for young people with autism.
SOUTH PORCUPINE - It's safe to say that Stuart Duncan's son's autism diagnosis has drastically changed his life.
For one, the South Porcupine dad had no idea he himself was on the spectrum.
“I was diagnosed five years ago,” said Duncan. “It wasn't until Cameron was getting older and going through (stuff), we started thinking, you know, that reminds me a lot of when I was growing up. There's a lot of things that remind me of me now.
“I went to my doctor, went to the hospital and had to do tons of crazy tests. It took a year, but I was diagnosed too, as an adult, at 36 years old.”
Duncan's asperger's diagnosis, though, isn't what's taken over most of his waking hours.
After starting a blog, Autism from a Father's Point of View, he found that autistic kids were being bullied online, and on the video game Minecraft, which his own children, Cameron, 12, and Tyler, 10, enjoy.
He created Autcraft – a Minecraft server just for kids on the spectrum, and their families.
“I didn't think it was going to be giant when I started it,” said Duncan. “It blew up super huge just by word of mouth, because it was the first of its kind.”
The former web developer answered 500 emails a day for two weeks straight after a famous Youtuber visited. From there, the server and the man behind it were featured in news stories around the world. Duncan even did a TEDx talk about the experience. He said it's been crazy since then.
“And then I never got to talk to you because you were always so busy,” teased Tyler, who corrected his dad: “It hasn't been crazy. It's been insane.”
Duncan manages the whitelist for the server – people have to apply and be approved to use it – and acts as a kind of therapist for the kids who use it.
“I worked more than eight hours (a day) when I was a web developer, because that's what programmers do,” he said. “Usually, I was up pretty late at night. It was nothing compared to this.”
When his kids are at home, Duncan gets eight hours of sleep. During their week at their mom's, that gets halved.
“There (are) so many suicidal kids, really, really depressed, being bullied at school,” he said. “They would always need me at all hours of the day.
“Whenever they're feeling really, really down, they want to talk to me and for along time it was just me they had to talk to, because I was the guy who made them feel safe.”
There are other administrators and helpers the kids can turn to, but Duncan's diagnosis helps him relate to them.
He hasn't hid the realities of what he does on Autcraft from his children.
“For a long time in the very beginning, they wanted to be doing it too,” he said. “Tyler would be crying at night because he wishes he could be talking to these kids to help them feel better, because they have it so hard.”
Duncan said he doesn't want them to worry about depression.
“But at the same time, when I think about all the terrible stuff that's going on in the world right now, it's pretty tame in comparison.
“There's a lot of kids that are actually on the server that are the actual ones going through it,” he said. “My boys just get to hear about it and feel bad for those kids.”
The Stuart boys still play on Autcraft from time to time, four years after its creation. Tyler, who is 10, likes the survival aspect of the game, whereas his older brother likes creating. Cameron, 12, describes the server as a sanctuary.
“It's basically a sanctuary for the autistic and kids with special needs, because dad figured out that they were getting bullied and teased everywhere and they had a hard time having fun and having friends. He mainly figured that out because of me. He decided to build a giant sanctuary, straight from scratch,” said Cameron.
“It keeps skyrocketing, mainly because more and more famous people come on,” he said.
Cameron said Autcraft isn't just for fun.
“It's meant for helping autistic kids. Me and Ty are really interested in it, so we just go and do our own things while we hang out with dad, while he helps everyone and we keep on with our conversations. Tyler gets dad's attention's every five seconds,” he said.
The server has evolved since it started, with a second server for older youth with autism.
“There was this group in between that were 15 to 28 or so, who felt that they couldn't say whatever they wanted and they couldn't just be themselves. They would get mad,” said Duncan.
So he started another server, where they're allowed to swear and talk about the challenges of high school and break-ups.
“They don't have to worry about six, seven-year-olds.”
More than 9,000 people are now on the whitelist for Autcraft. The challenges of maintaining the server and the whitelist meant Duncan eventually quit his job as a developer.
“It just got to the point where I was constantly telling my boss that I had to go, or I couldn't do this right now, or I had to do this or that,” he said. “I was letting him down because I was letting clients down because (Autcraft) was just taking too much of my time.”
His income now comes from Patreon – a website that allows people to support creators of everything from webcomics to songs with monthly contributions.
“I still get, every once in a while, people who will show up on Facebook and just completely hate me because I'm making money doing this. They're like, how can you say you're doing this for the kids if you're making money at it. I do have to pay rent and food and take care of my kids and stuff,” said Duncan.
The South Porcupine dad has tackled more than one controversial subject on his Facebook page, AutismFather. But the space is also an opportunity to share the successes of parenting a child with autism.
“My wonderful boy...the autistic kids that people claim has no empathy...gave up the very thing that he wanted most and even woke up really early for all because he wanted to make sure I wasn't bothered and got lots of sleep,” wrote Duncan in mid-November. “I sure do love this kid.”
He's also addressed what it's like to label yourself as autistic.
“I'm proud of who I am, not ashamed,” he wrote. “I am an autistic because I always have been and always will be. I'm an autistic because I'm proud of who I am. I'm an autistic because the stuff I have 'with me' is not me. I am me.”
His kids are proud of him too, said his eldest son.
“We're very proud of him, it's no big secret...because of all the kids he's helped and maybe even saved.”
Source: Father and sons bond over Autcraft
South Porcupine's Stuart Duncan and his sons Tyler, left, and Cameron, have taken a mutual love for a video game and turned it into a safe space for young people with autism.
SOUTH PORCUPINE - It's safe to say that Stuart Duncan's son's autism diagnosis has drastically changed his life.
For one, the South Porcupine dad had no idea he himself was on the spectrum.
“I was diagnosed five years ago,” said Duncan. “It wasn't until Cameron was getting older and going through (stuff), we started thinking, you know, that reminds me a lot of when I was growing up. There's a lot of things that remind me of me now.
“I went to my doctor, went to the hospital and had to do tons of crazy tests. It took a year, but I was diagnosed too, as an adult, at 36 years old.”
Duncan's asperger's diagnosis, though, isn't what's taken over most of his waking hours.
After starting a blog, Autism from a Father's Point of View, he found that autistic kids were being bullied online, and on the video game Minecraft, which his own children, Cameron, 12, and Tyler, 10, enjoy.
He created Autcraft – a Minecraft server just for kids on the spectrum, and their families.
“I didn't think it was going to be giant when I started it,” said Duncan. “It blew up super huge just by word of mouth, because it was the first of its kind.”
The former web developer answered 500 emails a day for two weeks straight after a famous Youtuber visited. From there, the server and the man behind it were featured in news stories around the world. Duncan even did a TEDx talk about the experience. He said it's been crazy since then.
“And then I never got to talk to you because you were always so busy,” teased Tyler, who corrected his dad: “It hasn't been crazy. It's been insane.”
Duncan manages the whitelist for the server – people have to apply and be approved to use it – and acts as a kind of therapist for the kids who use it.
“I worked more than eight hours (a day) when I was a web developer, because that's what programmers do,” he said. “Usually, I was up pretty late at night. It was nothing compared to this.”
When his kids are at home, Duncan gets eight hours of sleep. During their week at their mom's, that gets halved.
“There (are) so many suicidal kids, really, really depressed, being bullied at school,” he said. “They would always need me at all hours of the day.
“Whenever they're feeling really, really down, they want to talk to me and for along time it was just me they had to talk to, because I was the guy who made them feel safe.”
There are other administrators and helpers the kids can turn to, but Duncan's diagnosis helps him relate to them.
He hasn't hid the realities of what he does on Autcraft from his children.
“For a long time in the very beginning, they wanted to be doing it too,” he said. “Tyler would be crying at night because he wishes he could be talking to these kids to help them feel better, because they have it so hard.”
Duncan said he doesn't want them to worry about depression.
“But at the same time, when I think about all the terrible stuff that's going on in the world right now, it's pretty tame in comparison.
“There's a lot of kids that are actually on the server that are the actual ones going through it,” he said. “My boys just get to hear about it and feel bad for those kids.”
The Stuart boys still play on Autcraft from time to time, four years after its creation. Tyler, who is 10, likes the survival aspect of the game, whereas his older brother likes creating. Cameron, 12, describes the server as a sanctuary.
“It's basically a sanctuary for the autistic and kids with special needs, because dad figured out that they were getting bullied and teased everywhere and they had a hard time having fun and having friends. He mainly figured that out because of me. He decided to build a giant sanctuary, straight from scratch,” said Cameron.
“It keeps skyrocketing, mainly because more and more famous people come on,” he said.
Cameron said Autcraft isn't just for fun.
“It's meant for helping autistic kids. Me and Ty are really interested in it, so we just go and do our own things while we hang out with dad, while he helps everyone and we keep on with our conversations. Tyler gets dad's attention's every five seconds,” he said.
The server has evolved since it started, with a second server for older youth with autism.
“There was this group in between that were 15 to 28 or so, who felt that they couldn't say whatever they wanted and they couldn't just be themselves. They would get mad,” said Duncan.
So he started another server, where they're allowed to swear and talk about the challenges of high school and break-ups.
“They don't have to worry about six, seven-year-olds.”
More than 9,000 people are now on the whitelist for Autcraft. The challenges of maintaining the server and the whitelist meant Duncan eventually quit his job as a developer.
“It just got to the point where I was constantly telling my boss that I had to go, or I couldn't do this right now, or I had to do this or that,” he said. “I was letting him down because I was letting clients down because (Autcraft) was just taking too much of my time.”
His income now comes from Patreon – a website that allows people to support creators of everything from webcomics to songs with monthly contributions.
“I still get, every once in a while, people who will show up on Facebook and just completely hate me because I'm making money doing this. They're like, how can you say you're doing this for the kids if you're making money at it. I do have to pay rent and food and take care of my kids and stuff,” said Duncan.
The South Porcupine dad has tackled more than one controversial subject on his Facebook page, AutismFather. But the space is also an opportunity to share the successes of parenting a child with autism.
“My wonderful boy...the autistic kids that people claim has no empathy...gave up the very thing that he wanted most and even woke up really early for all because he wanted to make sure I wasn't bothered and got lots of sleep,” wrote Duncan in mid-November. “I sure do love this kid.”
He's also addressed what it's like to label yourself as autistic.
“I'm proud of who I am, not ashamed,” he wrote. “I am an autistic because I always have been and always will be. I'm an autistic because I'm proud of who I am. I'm an autistic because the stuff I have 'with me' is not me. I am me.”
His kids are proud of him too, said his eldest son.
“We're very proud of him, it's no big secret...because of all the kids he's helped and maybe even saved.”
Source: Father and sons bond over Autcraft
This is exactly the type of thing we as a people need more of
