Autism has become less taboo in today's rather accepting culture; native Batavia resident and author Dan Crofts is leading the charge in developing an online learning tool for parents and teachers.
Crofts has Aspberger Syndrome himself, which is a mild autism spectrum disorder, and gives a firsthand view from the mind of the unknown. Crofts's website FormingHorizons.com mixed with his rather personal writing style gives you a true through-the-eyes view of how someone with a form of autism thinks.
"I want this to become a tool any parent, teacher, and eventually employer, can use to further understand this disorder," Crofts said.
He hopes this website grows and educates people on how autism or Asperger Syndrome can cause the person to think extraordinarily differently; something people without the disorder cannot easily understand.
Crofts wants to develop a community full of parents and teachers who deal with autistic kids on daily basis and help them better understand their thinking ways; doing so will help their elders teach them a more effective way to learn academically and help them function better in a broader social setting.
Crofts believes his philosophy for the website is what sets him apart from other autism websites.
"You have to see the person behind the diagnosis if you want to help the person with the diagnosis," Crofts said, "You have to start with the sensory issues."
Crofts considers himself "blessed" to be apart of the high-functioning autism group; it gives him a real way to communicate to people without this diagnosis.
"I feel like I have a lot to offer on my experiences, especially to parents," Crofts said.
FormingHorizons has been in development as a for-profit. Crofts hopes to bring in that profit through advertisements and affiliate links on his website. But for now he is concentrating on its content and structure.
Lucille DiSanto has helped Crofts in significant ways and has become a mentor to him; DiSanto met with Crofts to talk about the development of the website.
"I feel like my next step in life is to create an autism website ... to help people further understand," Crofts said.
Croft officially bought his domain name http://forminghorizons.com in August of 2015.
"I want to work on my substance first," he said.
Crofts has always excelled in academics and graduated from Brockport University with a master's degree in English Literature; Crofts started free-lance writing for The Batavian in November 2009 and stopped doing it so much in August of 2011.
"I want to create a handbook like writing that people with this disability can use to excel in college, much like I have," Crofts said. "People with this diagnosis don't quite understand common sense."
Common sense is defined in Webster's Dictonary as "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." Crofts explained those common sense actions really aren't quite as simple as the definition; autistic people think differently.
(Photo by Zach Lee of Dan Crofts from FormingHorizons.com.)
