COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the front room of Zayne Harshaw's parents home, guitars line the walls.

"This one I got made custom," he said, holding a mirrored guitar with ZAYNE spelled down the strap.

What You Need To Know

  • Zayne Harshaw, 29, was diagnosed with autism at 4 years old

  • Harshaw is the lead guitarist of Blue Spectrum

  • Blue Spectrum will perform at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January

He strums a blues rhythm pattern.

“This is called the outcast blues… because, you know, I was an outcast, and I had a hard time fitting in with some people," he said.

The 29 year old was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4.

“The doctors told me I wouldn't be able to read, wouldn't be able to button buttons or zip zippers or tie my shoes," he said

Harshaw spent 8 years in occupational therapy.

"It was so severe, in fact, that the school district paid for him to have private occupational therapy sessions during the school year, and my wife and I paid out of pocket for him to have it during the summers," said Gene Harshaw, Zayne's father.

When Zayne was in high school, he decided he wanted to start a band.

"He used to walk up to total strangers and say, you wanna be in my band?" Gene said. "We're like, will you please cut that out? That is so embarrassing, like you walk right here, quiet most of the time, but suddenly you got this urge, want to go up and ask strangers to be in a band that doesn't even exist."

Zayne met a few other aspiring musicians through a Special Olympics program.

“We started out as a play date. We started in the basement, had the drummer come over, bass player come over. We had the guitar come over. So it was, we were a four piece," Zayne said.

They called the band Blue Spectrum, a nod to their array of abilities and Zayne's favorite color. 

“You know, it was for him to build relationships, the opportunity to make friends," Gene said. "We did not know that it will become what it became. “

About 15 years later, Zayne and Blue Spectrum play shows across the country. Not only sharing their love of music, but sharing Zayne’s story as well.

“I used to have anxiety attacks. Sometimes when I feel the energy rising, it gives me energy to play. I respond to that. I respond to people having a good time," Zayne said. 

The Harshaw's, including Zayne's mother, Gwen, stress the importance of talking about what he had to overcome.

“We thought it was important to be able to talk about autism, to let him be in control of his narrative," Gene said, "We just felt that it was really important. We didn't want him, anyone, to use his disability against him, hold it against him. So we always talk about it. We always put it out there, and we've caught some flack for that. They're like, 'Oh, he's so good. You don't need to talk about it.' Like, Well, the fact that you're saying we don't need to talk about is why we got to talk about it."

And they do. The family started Band Together Central Ohio, which is an autism-friendly open mic. 

In January, Zayne and Blue Spectrum will represent Columbus at the International Blues Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. It's the world’s largest gathering of blues musicians. 

“I proved those doctors wrong, because when I was at the age of 16, I started reading books about guitar players and so yeah, and I proved them wrong,"  Zayne said. "So I can also tie my own shoes."

Zayne hopes his music career takes him even further, and Gene seems to think it will.

“We have a band motto," he said. "The motto is: life is not to be viewed through the single lens of a diagnosis, but to be lived through the spectrum of potential, promise and purpose. That's our motto. So you don't let the diagnosis dictate your life."