Being different is something we should strive for, not be bullied for.
Three Goblin Art
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me

blake kathryn
$LAYYYTER
todays bird
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
Not today Justin
Mike Driver

Kaledo Art
ojovivo
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Stranger Things
trying on a metaphor
No title available
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Xuebing Du

pixel skylines

Product Placement

@theartofmadeline
taylor price

seen from United Kingdom

seen from Netherlands
seen from United Kingdom

seen from Malaysia

seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Spain
seen from United Kingdom

seen from Iraq
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United Arab Emirates

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Japan

seen from Malaysia
@autismfather
Being different is something we should strive for, not be bullied for.
I sat and watched a well-known streamer today use "it makes no sense" as some sort of justification for all of the really messed up conspiracy theories he had about the world. Like, "cave paintings make no sense, so therefore... aliens!"
I really wish people would stop using their own lack of knowledge as "proof" that they alone have figured out the world's secrets.
How every therapy appointment starts
I hear this a lot on Autcraft.
Players come to us hating autism, hating being autistic... but as they gain self-confidence and make friends, they discover that it wasn't autism at all... what they hate is the way other people treat them for being autistic.
Forcing you to "phone to cancel" should be illegal
One common business practice today that should be made illegal is when a service or subscription allows you to create an account online but forces you to have to phone them in order to cancel it rather than let you cancel online.
We all know that it's because they want to make it more difficult and also even take one last opportunity to talk you out of cancelling and maybe even upsell you on something.
What most people don't realize is that this can be imprisonment for many autistic people, or people with severe anxiety, or social introverts, and so forth. This an ableist practice designed to entrap victims into paying more money than they should and maybe are even able to afford.
Being forced to speak to someone whose sole purpose is to convince you to stay and maybe even spend more is intimidating enough but when you're already overwhelmed and anxious in the first place, you can often find yourself lacking the strength to stand your ground, leading you to buckle and take whatever deal they're pushing on you. You come away feeling defeated, taken advantage of, and like a victim.
This is a barbaric practice that only serves the corporations that already make billions and enslaves those who dared to ever try their services in the first place. If a company truly offers a good service and makes things accessible to all then they shouldn't have to stoop to these levels to make it so hard to leave in the first place.
Make people happy and let them leave when they want and you may just find that they won't want to leave as much.
I don't know how it could ever actually happen but I do feel like this is something that needs to be addressed and stopped because there are a lot of people who simply can not make those phone calls. And they shouldn't have to pay for it.
This has to stop.
ChatGPT Suggestions for Preventing Bullying of Autistic People
I decided to ask ChatGPT how it suggests that we get people to stop bullying autistic people and the answer truly was incredible... especially the conclusion at the end of the list.
Since one item in the list sounded very familiar, I thought I'd mention my Minecraft server to it just to see what would happen and I can say that I am officially flabbergasted!
I do believe what it wrote about my server is better than anything I've ever written about it!
This is what AI had to say about "Preventing the bullying of individuals on the autism spectrum."
Time Blindness
I remember talking with people years ago but have no clue when it was. Like, a person would ask me if I remember talking to them when we first met, and I do! I remember what we talked about. But then they'd ask me what year it was and... I have no clue!
I always just felt stupid because everyone else can remember "about when" something happened but I never could...
Then I discovered that "time blindness" is a real thing.
"Time blindness is the difficulty or inability to sense the passing of time or recalling when certain memories took place. It is a common symptom in people diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD and autism; however, anyone can experience it on occasion."
So I'm not the only one who has no idea when stuff happened or how long ago!?!?
I had no idea.
We did 22 sets of fireworks yesterday, from 6am to 3am Eastern, ensuring that everyone in every time zone was able to see fireworks as their clock struck midnight.
Each of the 4 admins had a hand in doing the fireworks throughout the day, making sure that none were missed, because every time, our beach at spawn was filled with people who expected to get their turn to bring in the new year.
So many autistic children and adults have reached out to thank us because they can never attend fireworks IRL. Anxiety, sensory overload, and other factors make real life fireworks impossible to see for so many people but that doesn't mean that they don't wish they could.
We do this because it matters.
We do it because it means something.
#autism #minecraft #NewYear2023
When you use a potion of invisibility but forget to take off your helmet.
Constantly teetering between wishing that people would pay attention to me and wanting to be left alone.
Why I don't write about autism anymore
I used to write about autism and being autistic and being an autism parent and about all of the misconceptions... and so on and so forth. Honestly, it was exhausting, for several reasons.
This is why I don't write about autism anymore:
#1. Since starting my Minecraft server for autistic children and their families, I started focusing on more of the positives... the way we support and encourage each other. I focused my efforts on being with people and helping them directly, rather than trying to write my thoughts and just hope they affect people indirectly.
I can touch people's lives directly now, sometimes even improve them, and sometimes... even save them. At the very least, I can be a part of those lives and they can be a part of mine. So I focus all of my time and energy there.
#2. Through my years of writing about autism, I discovered that I was mostly "preaching to the choir." As anyone that is familiar with autism can attest to, people just don't know or want to know about autism until it affects them. So the only people you tend to reach are people already in the autism community.
Yes, you can guide people a little, especially if they're just starting out on this journey, but mostly you're not reaching the people you truly want to educate no matter how hard you try.
So, for the most part, my writing was just for people to either reaffirm what they already knew, or to be able to relate to me (realize they're not alone), or worse... to find something to argue about. Which brings me to...
#3. I am tired of the constant battles. I've been involved in and writing within the autism community for well over a decade and I've seen people fight over vaccines, identity vs person first language, functioning labels, actually autistic people vs autism parents, severely impacted disabled autistic people vs savant types who think autism is future evolution, old terminology vs new terminology, autistic people vs organizations, and the list just goes on and on and on.
The autism community has never been a united force, a cooperative coalition... it's always been a divisive group that is eager to throw hands at each other over everything, big or small.
And I get the sense that many of those people are tired of it too, but instead of stopping, they just meet each new person who offends them as if they're the scum of the Earth and immediately treat them as such... no longer having the patience or decency to just explain their perspective. They see those people using the wrong words or saying the wrong things as if they're extremely offensive and must be put in their place.
It's been going on for decades and it's not stopping. And I'm tired of it.
#4. As I said in point number 1, I am more focused on what I'm doing now, talking with people directly, which means I no longer have the time to keep up on the latest trends, the newest science, the strangest rumours and everything else that one needs to be aware of to have any sort of respectable opinions on things.
I find far too many people are very opinionated on things they clearly don't know enough about and I don't want to be one of those people. I like to make sure I know what I'm talking about before I talk about it and at this point, I'm out of the loop. Actually, I'm kinda happy about that. Trying to keep up with it all, especially while people are barking at you from every direction about how only they can be right, and not knowing who actually is right, is very stressful and anxiety inducing.
So, at this point, my Minecraft server has over 16,000 names on the list now, and I've met every single person that's ever joined it. I have learned a lot in my 10 years of running it and I do feel like I have some insights into things that maybe no one else has... but I'm not in a rush to write about it.
I do share bits and pieces here and there but mostly just the good stuff, things that might make other people smile or feel better about, mostly the stuff that I am reasonably sure I won't find myself in the middle of a battle over. But I'm a little shy about it because I refuse to go back to those kids feeling negative. And I worry that one bad comment will do that.
I don't want to use a wrong word or have my tone policed or even just to be misunderstood to the point that someone decides they must wage war in the comments right then and there... and then bring all of that negative energy back to the kids who depend on me for safety and support.
So I mostly just keep my mouth shut. And I hope that doesn't disappoint anyone who wishes I'd write more. But I do hope those people understand that there is a reason, and I'm doing my best to help where I can... where I'm needed.
Hopefully that's good enough.
There are those who try to learn what they don't understand and then there are...
Beware those who think "I don't understand" or "doesn't make sense" is the same thing as "must be wrong."
They will try to convince you that their own brand of "common sense" is the only logical conclusion regardless of evidence/proof to the contrary.
Stress during the holidays
Something to think about since I'm having to deal with this right now:
As I am having more and more people around me who are stressed over the holidays, I am slowly starting to feel more and more stressed myself... by them. It's easy to see how this can cause a chain reaction, a snowball effect.
So if you are stressed, and that stress is affecting your attitude, try with all your might to not let that negatively impact how you are with other people. Because they might be stressed too, but worse than that, they may also already be dealing with 30+ people who are stressed and maybe they do let their stress affect their attitude.
Don't add to someone else's stress with your stress.
I'm seeing more and more people be short with people, rude to people, some are more sensitive and more easily hurt, and a whole host of other situations come up that just don't happen as frequently any other time. And it all comes back to me to deal with. This causes me stress.
What I'm trying to say is, remember that everyone else is fighting a battle as well, that you don't know about. Don't let your battle add to their battle.
Share kindness and well wishes despite the hard times, because if we can all do that, maybe none of us would be quite as stressed.
Imagine you are on a Minecraft server; you've made friends, you're having fun, it's not perfect, but you're enjoying it and contributing to the community.
Now imagine the server gets a new owner; a mean, egotistical, troll type megalomaniac, who not only is mean to everyone in the community but let's all of the banned trolls back in and let's anyone say and do any terrible thing they want.
Do you stay?
Because that's Twitter
Obligatory introduction for a first post
Hello there! My name is Stuart and I'm the founder/owner of Autcraft, the Minecraft server for autistic people and their families. I started it in 2013 when I heard from parents that their children were being bullied and trolled on public servers.
I believe that everyone should be free to play and have fun and make friends, free from fear and hate. So I did something I had never done before and started a Minecraft server and then figured out the rest from there.
I am here, of course, because of the train wreck that is Twitter and Facebook right now so I'm hoping that Tumblr will be a little... less crazy.
Anyway, it's nice to meet you! I hope to share more in time!
For more info on me and what I do:
The internet can be an ugly place, but you won't find bullies or trolls on Stuart Duncan's Minecraft server, AutCraft. Designed for children