So right now I am in Room Five ...with all the other special kids. Because I have ‘autism and developmental disabilities.' No one told me told yesterday that there was going to be a meeting today. I’m guessing it’s about the plastic electronic baby.
-- Ginny ("2:27 IN THE AFTERNOON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th")

Importance: Ginny's “autism and developmental disabilities” are fundamental to the themes within Benjamin Ludwig's novel because Ginny's perspective is unique, her brain is special, and her autism drives the story's conflict. Ginny puts her own social label- Autistic and Disabled- into italics because she is ultimately defined by others- her social workers, teachers, foster parents, and peers- as autistic. Autism is a rare psychological occurrence that affects an individual's social, physical, and emotional development. To the neurotypical world, Ginny is autistic and disabled, but as the reader soon discovers through her point-of-view, Ginny is more aware and capable than the stigma of autism gives...