How I use Minecraft to help kids with autism | Stuart Duncan | TEDxYorkU

Using video games to foster community and social interaction. Meet the father who created a Minecraft community for people with autism. Stuart Duncan created the Autcraft Minecraft server for people with autism and thei...

TEDx Talks
Published on Jun 29, 2017

Meet the father who created a Minecraft community for people with autism.

Stuart Duncan created the Autcraft Minecraft server for people with autism and their families in response to a need. Parents were reaching out to other parents because their autistic children were being bullied on public servers. The Autcraft server launched in 2013 and grew very quickly due to word of mouth within the autism community. Duncan found himself talking to an average of 2 children per week that were feeling suicidal due to the...

Using video games to foster community and social interaction. Meet the father who created a Minecraft community for people with autism. Stuart Duncan created the Autcraft Minecraft server for people with autism and thei...

TEDx Talks
Published on Jun 29, 2017

Meet the father who created a Minecraft community for people with autism.

Stuart Duncan created the Autcraft Minecraft server for people with autism and their families in response to a need. Parents were reaching out to other parents because their autistic children were being bullied on public servers. The Autcraft server launched in 2013 and grew very quickly due to word of mouth within the autism community. Duncan found himself talking to an average of 2 children per week that were feeling suicidal due to the constant bullying, feeling alone and being depressed. After quitting his job to focus solely on the server, a strong, supportive community grew and developed which news outlets would one day call "one of the best places on the Internet."

Learn how a video game server went from keeping children safe from bullying to attracting researchers and journalists from all around the world as parents began reporting greater progress in their children's social abilities than ever before. This TEDx talk was recorded on April 22 2017 at TEDxYorkUSalon AutismInnovations in Toronto, Canada.

Stuart Duncan is the founder of Autcraft, the first Minecraft server for children with autism and their families. He is also an autistic parent of two children, one with autism and one without.