Adhd King - Tumblr Posts
Listening to The Battle of the Labyrinth again, and Percy, Rachel, Annabeth and Nico are all traveling together, and it just hit me just how dense Percy is, considering everyone present has a crush on him, and he still can’t put two and two together.
My parents: if i had adhd and depression and found it hard to complete school work or hold a job I would simply stop being lazy
interesting fact about me is that I have a great memory but I also have a shit memory
[IMAGE ID: tweet from ‘freetofic’ reading:
“ADHD culture is not knowing:
-when to ask for help b/c ‘overwhelmed w/things to do’ is your normal, default state
-how to ask for help b/c you don’t even know how to describe what needs doing, so organizing the help would be more work than just doing it yourself”
Posted 9:49 AM on 1st December 2019]
Okay, but the fact that Leo and Percy are considered the “stupid ones” by the fandom, usually for their ADHD traits.
Okay, BUT THIS?! Though I don’t think it’s just the ADHD, but the ADHD was part of it.
And the fact that Leo was written as a very intelligent character in the books, but he gets written off by the fandom as dumb because he makes stupid jokes and doesn’t interact well with other people? The not interacting well is a neurodivergent thing, by the way.
Also the Percy thing pisses me off, because when people do this, they do it by comparing him to Annabeth. They call him stupid for not knowing things in the first couple of books, which, I mean, of course he wouldn’t know things, or he would know less than Annabeth? Annabeth has been doing this shit since she was a little kid... Percy has not. Annabeth is going to be more educated on this stuff than Percy is.
The same thing happened with Leo to an extent in TLH. He was the one asking a lot of questions, because Jason had been doing this shit for years, even if he didn’t know and Piper had done research on it long before camp. Leo really doesn’t know as much as the other two about Greek Mythology, but that’s okay!
Nobody is stupid for not being the expert on one area, and it’s not like Leo’s expertise in other areas didn’t come in handy, or that Percy didn’t get more educated the longer he was involved in the world. It’s not like their lack of expertise in Greek Mythology made them completely incompetent.
Also, moving onto the ADHD things, starting with Percy.
Percy’s ADHD and dyslexia made him struggle in school a lot, and people tend to use this in justifying how “stupid” he is. Now, this isn’t just ableist towards people with ADHD, but equating grades to intelligence is really harmful to all neurodivergent people who struggle in school because of their neurotype, and ignores how ableist the school system is.
Notice how the one teacher Percy felt believed in him was not only a magical centaur, but a magical centaur who literally ran a summer camp full of neurodivergent kids, and most likely knows how their brains work? That’s because teachers aren’t equipped to handle anyone other than NT kids, and oftentimes blames the child on their struggles, rather than help them not to struggle.
Percy not doing well in school because of his neurodivergence isn’t reflective of his own intelligence- it’s reflective on ableism in the school system, and tbh, as much as Rick Riordan got wrong, he got that part right.
Then it’s the fact that Percy and Leo are impulsive... which, impulsivity is a classic ADHD trait... even people I know who seem to have a stereotypical or basic understanding of ADHD knows that...
And again, this doesn’t make them incompetent. In fact, their impulsivity is a lot of times their biggest strength, because a lot of times, especially in times of war, you don’t have time to make a plan. You have to just be able to react to your surroundings. This is what Percy does, and it is shown as a foil to Annabeth, who is a planner.
Percy’s impulsivity and Annabeth’s careful planning are two different strengths that are useful in different situations.
As for Leo, I don’t even really see him as impulsive? Because he does typically plan things out before doing them, but he does so quickly. He isn’t a careful planner, but he is an efficient planner, and this has come in handy several times. He does take risks, but they’re calculated risks, they are usually risks he’s put some thought into.
I wouldn’t say Percy and Leo’s ability to take risks makes them stupid, in fact, I’d say their ability to take risks and come out unharmed actually makes them pretty fucking intelligence.
the way percy has an ambivalent relationship to power & subconsciously resists the title of “son of Poseidon” all throughout pjo...... i have no choice but to stan 😔
the adhd urge to tell a whole background story before answering one simple question