04/13/2023
I want to welcome you to Spectrum Books and share our story!
In 2023, my 4-year-old son was diagnosed with Autism. In many ways, the diagnosis didn't come as a surprise. Since my son was about 2-years-old, I noticed that he increasingly exhibited signs associated with Autism, including severe aversions to loud noises and bright lights, as well as extreme rigidity to routines and difficulty with daily transitions.
Once my son received his diagnosis, I searched for resources to help him navigate the world and, ultimately, help him thrive. Unfortunately, I came up empty-handed. While I found a lot of clinical resources for trained professionals, I didn't find much content that was relatable for children.
To fill this gap, my son and I wrote Lander and the Magical Golden Earmuffs, a story about a boy named Lander who learns to overcome his fear of loud noises with the help of a friendly pirate named Captain Gold Tooth.
To help raise the book's profile, I used OpenAI's ChatGPT and DALL-E to write and illustrate the book, hoping that I might ride the wave of ChatGPT's popularity in the press to raise awareness about Autism. It worked.
Within two weeks of its release on Amazon, the book had sold a 1,000 copies, and had received an outpouring of gratitude from parents who'd shared the book with their neurodiverse children.
This shocking response encouraged me to do more, so I founded Spectrum Books with the mission of amplifying the voices of those who see the world differently in order to help more people understand, support, and embrace the neurodiverse.
At the end of the day, though, it is my son's words that best embody the organization's purpose. When I asked him what he thought about being a published author, he had this to say: "Dad, Lander is going to help so many boys and girls." I couldn't agree with him more.
- Blake Bassett, CEO and Founder, Spectrum Books
