Inside Upward Bound: A Glimpse into Adult Daycare for Disabled Adults
Upward Bound is an adult daycare centre located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, characterized by its "poop-coloured" walls and a modest swimming pool at the rear. The centre’s name is ironically misleading, as it functions more as a holding facility for the city’s disabled population who have aged out of the school system. Those who manage to escape—whether by climbing up, down, or sideways—are seen as rare exceptions, small miracles who have evaded confinement.
The author Woody Brown shares a similar sense of having narrowly avoided the constraints of adult care to pursue a career in professional writing. Brown is notable as the first non-speaking autistic graduate from UCLA and a 2024 graduate of Columbia University’s writing programme. His debut novel, Upward Bound, reflects on his experiences not with resentment but with empathy and dignity. Brown expresses compassion for both the weary staff and the "clients"—a term he uses to describe the centre’s residents—who endure monotonous, seemingly purposeless daily activities. The novel, which can be interpreted as a form of jailbreak narrative, suggests that nearly everyone within the centre is unjustly confined. The book metaphorically extends a ladder back down to those still trapped inside.
The Voice of Walter: An Autistic Perspective
The story’s protagonist, Walter, is an autistic individual who does not speak but communicates through echolalia, repeating lines from shows like Thomas the Tank Engine and Toy Story 3 as a means of expression. Walter, who likely serves as Brown’s alter ego, struggles to convey his true thoughts and feelings. Despite earning straight As at community college and aspiring to become a writer, Walter faces bleak prospects due to the communication barriers non-speaking individuals encounter, which often prevent them from securing even low-level employment.
"The bottom line is being able to communicate": non‑speakers rarely land even menial work.
Consequently, Walter remains confined at Upward Bound, surrounded by people he has known for years but never spoken to. He harbours feelings for Emma, another client, and suspects she may reciprocate, yet their interactions remain distant and disconnected. When standing together in the recreation room, they might as well be separated by a hundred miles, communicating on entirely different wavelengths, akin to whales listening for sonic signals in the ocean.
A Complex Community Portrayed with Nuance
While it might be tempting to categorize Brown’s work alongside other neurodivergent artists such as Turner Prize winner or architectural illustrator, doing so risks oversimplifying the distinctiveness of his narrative. Upward Bound emphasizes the diversity within its characters, highlighting the wide range of conditions and experiences that shape this community of marginalized individuals. No two people are alike or necessarily share the same perspective, and the novel reflects this through its multiple viewpoints, sometimes presenting different angles on the same event.
The narrative structure is dynamic, shifting between first-person and third-person perspectives, and alternating among Walter, the staff, and the clients. This approach challenges the misconception that autistic individuals lack empathy, illustrating instead the complexity of their emotional lives.
Humanizing Characters Without Villains
The novel refrains from portraying any characters as villains. Jorge, a physically imposing individual often seen as a problem, simply desires more time with his comfort toy. Dave, the centre’s manager, experiences stress for understandable reasons. At one point, the narrative extends beyond the centre to include Avery, a bored Target checkout clerk who observes the group of clients arriving by bus every Friday.
"The weird group slowly moves into the store," she notes. "There are 10 people and two handlers. People. Of course they’re people. It’s just that they look fuzzy around the edges, as if they haven’t fully materialised after their interplanetary transport."
Brown’s prose draws connections between characters and sharpens their portrayal. Avery’s curiosity and keen observation add an external perspective to the story.
The Daycare Centre as Both Prison and Lifeline
Walter describes Upward Bound as "an insane asylum" and "a dead-end way-station." Despite this bleak characterization, for some staff members, the centre represents a vital purpose. Carlos, a tattooed former troublemaker, finds meaning and passion in his role as a carer, embodying the closest thing the centre has to a saint.
The novel unfolds episodically, presenting vivid character sketches. The narrative thread that ties these episodes together is Carlos’s search for Jorge, who has absconded from the centre, culminating in a climactic resolution.
Woody Brown’s Promising Literary Journey
As for Woody Brown, his journey as a novelist is just beginning, and Upward Bound represents a remarkable debut. The book exhibits typical first-novel imperfections, such as occasional over-explanation and excessive exposition. These are common challenges for debut authors and are perhaps intensified for someone who has spent much of his life striving to be understood beyond the page.
Nevertheless, Upward Bound is also humorous, poignant, and vibrant with life. It embraces the complexities and contradictions inherent in its subject matter. The novel tells the garrulous, engaging story of a young man who cannot speak and serves as an inclusive, empathetic guide to those often overlooked and isolated.
One hallmark of exceptional fiction is its ability to transport readers to entirely different worlds. Sometimes these worlds include spacemen, dragons, or talking trains. Other times, they are worlds that exist just beneath our everyday awareness.
