Carlos is a staffer at Upward Bound who is a mentor figure and one of the novel’s clearest examples of compassionate care. His defining traits are his quiet competence, patience, attentiveness, and empathy. Unlike his colleagues, who are often distracted or apathetic, Carlos approaches his work with a calm vigilance, treating the clients with respect and recognizing their individual needs, preferences, and abilities. His backstory, revealed in his perspective chapter, shows a young man from a difficult background who has learned to be observant and self-possessed, qualities that allowed him to develop meaningful connections with clients whose perspectives and needs are often overlooked at the center. He stands in contrast to the bureaucratic and self-involved Dave, representing a model of care rooted in personal understanding and responsiveness rather than institutional routines and procedures.

The most significant aspect of Carlos’s character is his relationship with Jorge, which exemplifies the theme of Empathy Beyond Spoken Communication. He has developed what he perceives as a “Vulcan mind meld” with Jorge (140), a nonspeaking client, intuitively sensing Jorge’s needs and anxieties without relying on spoken communication. He understands that Jorge’s elopements aren’t acts of defiance but expressions of a need that others struggle to recognize, specifically for the comfort of his Mr. Potato Head toy. This understanding distinguishes him from staff members who often interpret Jorge’s actions through institutional expectations rather than his individual needs. His decision to retrieve the toy for a distressed Jorge is an act of compassion that tragically leads to his death, exposing the consequences of institutional failures and the inability of others to understand Jorge’s needs. His death marks the novel’s climax and reinforces the themes of Unfulfilled Potential Due to Systemic Neglect and Empathy Beyond Spoken Communication by showing the consequences of institutional failures to understand and support people whose communication differs from conventional expectations.

Ann, a college student working as a summer lifeguard, serves as an important outside observer whose perspective allows the reader a fresh entry into the world of Upward Bound. Her perspective changes as she moves from uncertainty about the environment to a deeper understanding of the clients’ experiences. She initially views the clients with fear and uncertainty shaped by unfamiliarity and assumptions about disability, describing her first day as a “Kafka nightmare.” However, her narrative is one of education and growing empathy, as she moves beyond her initial shock to form genuine connections with the clients she supervises. Her intelligence and innate kindness allow her to recognize the clients as individuals with their own personalities, preferences, abilities, and communication styles. She learns to interpret Tom’s nonverbal cues, teases him in a way that acknowledges his humor and preferences, and recognizes Emma’s love for The Beatles, adapting her interactions to meet their unique communication styles.

Ann’s character also serves as a foil to Dave and the stifling bureaucracy he represents. Her spontaneous, joyful approach to her job directly challenges the center’s rigid, risk-averse environment. The unauthorized decorating party and the exhilarating wheelchair joyride she gives Tom are moments in which she prioritizes the clients’ enjoyment and participation over Dave’s emphasis on rules and liability. These moments transform the Upward Bound pool from a simple therapy space into a site of freedom and fun, reinforcing the pool as a space where more flexible interactions encourage participation, connection, and enjoyment. Ann’s summer experience is transformative, prompting her to consider a career in speech pathology and demonstrating how her experiences with the clients reshape her understanding of communication and care.

Tom is a young man with cerebral palsy who, like Walter, possesses a sharp and sophisticated mind whose thoughts and perspectives are often obscured because others can’t easily access his preferred forms of communication. His perspective chapter is an important element of the novel, illustrating the theme of Speech as a False Measure of Intelligence. The reader is given direct access to his witty internal monologue, his rich fantasy life, and his moving observations, all of which remain invisible to the outside world, including his own mother, who has largely given up on him. The challenges that Tom experiences in communicating and interacting with the world coexist with a rich inner life, as he imagines himself as a movie star or a doctor and develops a tender, if one-sided, romance with Ann. Tom’s characterization reveals how a person’s intellectual and emotional experiences can remain overlooked when others rely primarily on conventional communication.

Tom’s central struggle is his effort to establish communication and have others recognize his thoughts, intentions, and abilities. Frustrated by the world’s inability to recognize his attempts at communication, he methodically begins practicing a system of blinking—one for “yes,” two for “no”—in a deliberate display of agency and determination. This effort demonstrates his continued attempt to communicate despite the barriers surrounding him. While Ann, the object of his affection, fails to notice his intentional blinking, it’s the deeply empathetic Carlos who first questions if there’s intent behind the movement, offering Tom recognition that his attempts at communication may finally be understood. His story illustrates the consequences of communication barriers and the importance of recognizing forms of expression beyond speech.

Dave is the director of Upward Bound and serves as one of the novel’s central sources of institutional conflict. He’s characterized through the ways his decisions reflect institutional and bureaucratic limitations that affect people with disabilities. His character is defined by his insecurity, his obsession with appearances, and his rigid adherence to rules that often place greater emphasis on liability and administrative control than on the clients’ individual needs and experiences. His perspective chapter reveals a man of thwarted ambition, a failed actor from Kentucky who clings to his title and the minor authority it provides. His management style reflects his limited understanding of the clients’ perspectives and communication needs; he spends most of his time in his office and shows little understanding of autism, as seen when he suggests that Jorge should have verbally requested a time out, revealing his limited awareness of Jorge’s communication differences.

Dave consistently acts as a source of institutional tension that limits opportunities for connection, participation, and individual expression at the center. He unjustly files an incident report against Walter for helping find Jorge, reprimands Ann for the client-led decorating party, and runs a Holiday Spectacular that reflects his emphasis on presentation and control, often limiting the clients’ creative expression. He embodies the theme of Unfulfilled Potential Due to Systemic Neglect, as his leadership creates an environment shaped by routines and expectations that limit opportunities for growth, participation, and recognition of clients’ abilities. Throughout the novel, Dave shows limited willingness to reconsider his assumptions or recognize how his decisions affect the clients he serves.

Jorge is a nonspeaking client at Upward Bound who plays a central role in the novel’s conflicts and the development of its themes. Although the novel provides less direct access to Jorge’s perspective than Walter’s, his experiences and actions contribute significantly to the novel’s central conflicts and thematic development. Characterized in the novel as a “gentle giant,” his attempts to leave the center become a recurring source of concern for staff. Walter and Carlos recognize that Jorge’s attempts to leave the center are connected to a specific need that he has difficulty communicating through the methods others expect.

Jorge’s intense attachment to his Mr. Potato Head toy is an important symbol of his need for comfort and familiarity. The toy represents comfort, order, and a small measure of autonomy in an environment where many aspects of his daily life are structured by others. The failure of those responsible for Jorge’s care to recognize and accommodate this source of comfort ultimately contributes to the novel’s tragic climax. Jorge’s departure to the park with the toy sets in motion the confrontation with police that leads to Carlos’s death. Although readers receive limited direct access to Jorge’s perspective, his actions reveal motivations and needs that are often misunderstood by those around him, exposing the limitations of the system meant to support him.

Lisa, Walter’s mother, is one of the most influential figures in his development, serving as his primary advocate, communication partner, and source of educational support. Unlike those who assume that Walter being nonspeaking reflects limited intellectual ability, Lisa recognizes his intelligence and works consistently to create opportunities for him to demonstrate his capabilities. Through her willingness to learn and facilitate alternative communication methods, including the letter board, she challenges the assumption that speech is the primary measure of intelligence, reinforcing the novel’s theme of Speech as a False Measure of Intelligence.

Lisa’s commitment to Walter’s education demonstrates her determination to challenge the limited expectations placed on him. When educational structures fail to provide opportunities that reflect his abilities, she supplements his learning and ensures that he continues engaging with academic material. Her support allows Walter to pursue higher education and demonstrate his intellectual abilities through his academic work. After Carlos’s death and the changes that follow, Lisa and Walter must adjust to a new routine and changing responsibilities, revealing the personal challenges that accompany their circumstances. Lisa’s character demonstrates how advocacy and appropriate support can create opportunities for abilities that might otherwise remain unrecognized. At the same time, Walter’s facilitated communication method necessitates dependence rather than independence, reflecting the controversies surrounding the book’s authorship and the rapid prompting method in general.

Andy is a fellow staffer whose approach falls between Carlos’s highly attentive approach and the more routine-based approaches of some other staff members. Though less personally involved than Carlos, he demonstrates moments of competence and kindness, particularly in his handling of the Holiday Spectacular.

Avery, a Target employee, acts as an external observer whose perspective reflects how people outside Upward Bound may initially misunderstand disability and communication differences. Her perspective shifts from uncertainty and limited understanding toward greater empathy, suggesting the possibility of changing perceptions of disability among people outside the center.