“I’ve spent plenty of time with Jorge. I probably understand his predicament better than the people whose job it is to handle him. Jorge and I are both inmates at an insane asylum that passes itself off as a day program for autistic young adults. We have been in and out of each other’s lives since special ed preschool. We graduated from different schools - well, I graduated. He got a certificate of completion.”
That’s a quote from Woody Brown’s novel Upward Bound. Each chapter tells a story of either one of the clients or one of the staff. Carlos is a young aide, suggested for employment by his older sister who is the receptionist. He was a bit of a lost soul until he discovered he has a heart for working with autistic adults. He, his
sister, and Ann, a summer intern, work under the direction of Dave, the director and a stickler for the rules. Some of the clients are Jorge, a gentle, nonspeaking giant; Walter, whose inability to speak labels him incorrectly as unintelligent; and Tom, who though trapped in a wheelchair, unable to speak, has completed a degree by using a letter board with the help of his mother.
The book jacket says that the author, “In 2022 became the first nonspeaking autistic graduate of UCLA, where he received the English department’s top writing honors.” He also has an MFA in creative writing at Columbia University. This book gives tremendous insight into the lives of autistic adults and, once you read it, might cause you to rethink how you interact with them.
If you’re interested in better understanding the life of an autistic adult, then you must read Upward Bound by Woody Brown.
