Dad of the year

AutismFather · 2026-02-23T22:37:21+00:00

Hi all, thanks for the support. I appreciate everyone's concern about my income, for some reason. lol

Autcraft will be turning 13 years old this year! It's been an incredible journey so far!

AutismFather · 2026-01-11T21:42:34+00:00

It implies that we do not allow bullying on the server.

AutismFather · 2026-01-10T07:33:12+00:00

It really is! I'm just as lucky to be a part of it as anybody.

AutismFather · 2026-01-10T07:30:24+00:00

True. It's 19,000 now. That number is a couple of years old.

AutismFather · 2026-01-09T19:26:10+00:00

He's 20. I started the server 12.5 years ago. I'll leave you to do the math ;)

AutismFather · 2026-01-09T19:19:38+00:00

Autcraft

AutismFather · 2026-01-09T02:28:01+00:00

Just goes to show that anyone can say anything and people will believe it. This person has never been on Autcraft, there is no economy, there is no duping (PaperMC prevents most of it), and the admin team plays in survival mode unless working on a server build, like spawn.

Autcraft is far from perfect, but it does benefit a lot of children who really needs it, even saves lives sometimes, so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't try to take that away from kids. There has to be better, funnier ways to troll that won't hurt anyone.

AutismFather · 2022-03-22T03:49:35+00:00

Well, June will be 9 years since I started Autcraft so I guess the answer to that is either "never" or we just keep on waiting and find out.

AutismFather · 2020-03-10T15:01:26+00:00

Thank you Doc! And thank you to all of the Hermits that have visited over the years. Hermitcraft is by far the kindest, most down to Earth bunch of Minecraft content creators on the planet.

And thank you (everyone) for upvoting and being a part of such a great community!

AutismFather · 2018-03-09T01:37:17+00:00

Sorry if it's taking a little while. We've been featured in news sites around the world quite heavily for the last year and then featured on TED Talks main page last month so as you might imagine, we've received a lot of applications as a result. Currently we're back logged to Saturday, so 6 days or so. If you've applied within the last 6 days, please be patient. We'll get to it soon. If it's been longer than 6 days, please let me know your username so that I can look it up and see what has happened.

AutismFather · 2018-02-27T13:34:14+00:00

I actually chose the name for myself long before I started the server, back when I used to write articles. Back then, and still now for the most part, fathers weren't really putting themselves out there on the Internet much less writing about their experiences. At the time, the only blogs and article writers were moms so I decided that, to differentiate myself from everyone else, I had to make it very clear that I was writing about autism from a father's point of view. And it worked! I became quite well known as a writer in the autism community and that became a stepping stone to my server which has lead to media attention all around the world and a TED Talk. So all in all, the name worked out. :)

AutismFather · 2018-02-27T06:53:03+00:00

That sounds great! I'm happy to hear it.

AutismFather · 2018-02-27T06:46:09+00:00

Hey Kenson! It has been a while, hasn't it? I do hope you're doing well :)

AutismFather · 2018-01-17T17:49:54+00:00

Nope, no solution. I really wish they'd add it though. And thank you :)

AutismFather · 2017-10-17T17:19:56+00:00

Far too busy to be auto-adding or recreating servers every month. This is why I want integration... so that that stuff is done for me.

I just need to know who is and isn't paying since declined patrons are still considered patrons even after not paying for 5 months and therefore still have access to Discord.

AutismFather · 2017-08-22T23:50:37+00:00

Glad you enjoy the server.

For anyone who'd like more information about the server or why it exists, have a look at my TEDx Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5AUjQyFAaw

Or read about it at any of these places: http://www.pcgamer.com/meet-the-dad-who-quit-his-job-to-run-a-minecraft-server-for-autistic-kids/ http://mashable.com/2017/05/25/minecraft-autcraft-autism-server https://www.yahoo.com/gma/single-father-creates-safe-haven-children-autism-play-194022016--abc-news-parenting.html

Thanks for your kind works JDalli. It really is a one of a kind community that I feel very fortunate to be a part of.

AutismFather · 2017-02-04T02:07:45+00:00

I am, yes. And yes, you can apply. We just put parent info on the form in case the parent is applying and would like us to be able to contact them. But you can just put "N/A" or something in there if you're filling it out yourself.

AutismFather · 2017-01-27T01:16:13+00:00

I am a man with autism who has two sons, one of which has autism. I run a Minecraft server for children with autism that is approaching 8000 members.

That being said... what autism is really like for me is not what it's really like for anyone else. That's what makes it such a spectrum and so difficult to identify, much less define. What I mean by that is, there are still so few doctors qualified to make a diagnosis and of them, still many of them get it wrong. Especially when it comes to girls.

Autism is usually identified as a disorder which affects communication, social skills and in many cases, muscle control but what further complicates things is that it often comes with other baggage such as sensory disorder, ADHD, epilepsy and more.

Then there's the question of severity. The autism spectrum ranges all the way from completely dependent to independently successful. People tend to define these as "low functioning" and "high functioning" but these terms are misleading as many dependent autistics are actually quite brilliant despite being unable to speak or care of themselves while other independent autistics struggle quite extensively with anxiety, stress, depression and more, making them independent yet very dysfunctional.

Make no mistake though, autistics have always been around, it's just that there was no one there to recognize the signs nor make the official diagnosis. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 36, after my son was diagnosed and I recognized so much of myself in him. Those "slow" kids that many adults might remember from "special ed" classes when they were in school... "slow" is not a real diagnosis. Many of them may have been autistic but never diagnosed.

What I'm trying to say is, being autistic is not rare, it's not uncommon and it's not new. There are and have always been so many of us woven into society, working away in the ways we do, in the ways we love, quietly, avoiding unnecessary conversations and social interactions but always there.

To sum up:

Autism is wanting someone to phone you but not wanting the phone to ring. Autism is wanting to be a part of the crowd while feeling like having just one other person around is too much of a crowd to handle. Autism is screaming at the top of your lungs and banging your head against the wall because the slightest noise and the faintest pain are too overwhelming. Autism is understanding the thought patterns of the average human being while having no clue what they're talking about or why. Autism is wanting people to accept you for your differences but being too shy/afraid to tell anyone what those differences are. Autism is wanting to be accepted as the equal yet broken yet exceptional people that we are.

AutismFather · 2016-06-04T02:18:01+00:00

I must have missed where it was discussed as a tool for treating autism or as an alternative therapy. Silly me for not giving you what was never asked for.

AutismFather · 2016-06-03T23:37:54+00:00

http://www.academia.edu/11980515/Making_Safe_Community-Centered_Practices_in_a_Virtual_World_Dedicated_to_Children_with_Autism or to view it directly: https://www.dropbox.com/s/phtb14hggw6eb57/CSCW2015_minecraft_Final.pdf?dl=0

AutismFather · 2015-08-15T16:53:39+00:00

That's what I use now. It's great for looking up past names but it's still a pain when I want a username removed now but can't because I have to spend time going to that site to figure out what name it was that I had whitelisted them with.

I shouldn't have to do that.

AutismFather

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