Sometimes, it amazes me how interested in math and science and reading Annabeth is. School had always been a challenge for me. I have ADHD and Dyslexia. I mean I accept that it's a part of the whole being a demigod thing, and being able to read Greek and have good battle reflexes, but that doesn't mean that isn't hasn't been anything less of a hardship during my whole "acadmic career" if you could even call it that. My "academic career" is the career equivalent of a five year old kid selling Girl Scout cookies.
ADHD as most of you know stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactity Disorder. (Insert professor voice) Clinically speaking, It's a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes symptoms that fit into three main categories inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Percy Jackson speaking, I can't pay attention to anything less than super interesting for more than 7 minutes, I'm distracted by everything from someone picking up a piece of paper to biting their nails, I have a hard time listening to long conversations, I get sidetracked on almost all assignments, schoolwork or homework, I forget literally everything and my room and notebooks are so messy it would probably qualify me to be on one of those hoarder shows on TLC. My hyperactivity is something else. I get super restless sometimes, and I feel like a race car. I get really impatient easily, and I say and do things without thinking about the consequences. And according to some people (Annabeth and every elementary school teacher I've ever had) I talk to much. I'm not that outgoing, I've never been one of the popular kids, but I just can't control what I say sometimes.
Dyslexia is a learning disability, I've always been grades behind in my reading level compared to the other kids in my class. Having to read English is a living hell, (I should know I've been too the underworld a few times.) Words float all over the page and look like a jumbled up mess. It's frustrating sometimes, when you physically cannot read. The first years of school, you're afraid that your teacher will call on you and you'll embarrass yourself infront of the class, but once you hit 4th grade you just give up. On reading and your self. You're classmates think you're a loser, your teachers call you lazy and who are you to disagree.
When I was in 6th grade, I had Mr. Brunner* (aka Chiron) as my teacher. He was a pretty good teacher. I mean, he was more kind and understanding than the teachers I'd had before. Probably due to centuries of training and protecting demigods with ADHD and Dyslexia. He was a teacher that I actually felt close to. At first, I was annoyed that he kept on acting like I was some sort of genius and could get amazing grades on my work and tests, like did he not know that I have learning disabilities and having to do tests and homework feels like having to run an Olympic race while in a coma. But I will admit, when we were learning about Ancient Greece, and I was interested and engaged, I did do better in class. I never really believed I was dumb. I mean, I was pretty good at learning historical and science topics, through videos and movies and stuff like that, but not through reading and definitely not writing about it.
In a way, going to camp halfblood was a confidence booster, aside from being put in life compromising situations. I was around tons of kids with ADHD and/or Dyslexia and ones who had talents in everything. Academic and everything else.
Something that I had always hated about school was IEP meetings. An IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. It's basically a document that describes how your gonna get special ed services, all your teachers have to sign it, and my mom, my teachers and the school psychologist and counselor had to meet every year at the IEP meeting. IEP meetings kind of suck, because basically every teacher just complains about you. He can never pay attention, he's always distracted etc. Ever since I was in second grade I had an IEP. Basically, I was allowed extra time on tests, a special ed teacher I had to go meet with a couple times a week to practice reading, "breaks" to go outside, a couple extra days on homework and I could get a copy of notes from a classmate or the teachers. These were my "accommodations". I didn't really like using them, I felt like it made me stand out, as if I didn't already stand out enough. I was already the kid who always got sent outside the classroom, who couldn't read basic sentences, and always needed help on everything. The "why didn't you turn in your stuff today", "why is the teacher giving you notes", "why was a teacher calling me out of the classroom" just annoyed me even more. The only accommodation I did use was going to the special ed teacher, because I couldn't really get out of that. But everything that I could get out of using I did. So yes, technically I was a special ed kid. I always hated the word special ed, it brought up images of people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities and severely disabled people. But special ed is still what they call it for kids with learning disabilities and mental illnesses who have IEPs. So I guess thats not gonna change.
The end.