Percy has ADHD, and right now, it can only be making his life harder. Though, Percy’s choices had greatly affected his attitude towards school, managing emotions and the positive relationships he has.

Percy’s choices can be improved if he learned a better way to control his emotions, rather than staying cool, as the school counselor had said in the book. Percy isn’t able to control his emotions well. Like on page 5, he said “’Will you shut up!?!?!?!’ It came out louder than I meant” Then on page 17, “I snapped”, later on Page 22, “’Thanks’ I blurted”. In the three times throughout the book which Percy had not controlled his emotions, he wasn’t thinking before he talked. According to the author of Self-Management / Managing Emotion, it says on paragraph 7 that “Emotional response is often quite straightforward, but very powerful: you want to cry, or run away, or shout.” If the counselors had done some activities with Percy when they notice he had started to let out emotions, they could perhaps do exercise, one of the first positive actions named that may help you manage emotions. Percy could get into a habit of managing his emotions this way better and no longer needs the counselor to tell him or remind him.

ADHD impacts Percy’s choices because he couldn’t target more than one or a few subject/s, mostly including the ones he doesn’t like. For example, Percy likes his teacher Mr. Brunner, one of the reason Percy likes Mr. Brunner is on page 2, Percy states “Let us play games in class.” In the article Neurodiversity: A Different View of ADHD, paragraph 18, it states, “People with ADHD also do their best in simulating environments. They like to be outdoors and move their bodies.” Playing games in class allows Percy to move his body during class time. This may be one of the main reasons he likes games in class. Later on, page 17, Percy states, “My grades slipped from Ds to Fs”. In the article, Paragraph 17, it states “They might be very focused when something interests them.” If the class is something Percy isn’t interested in, he won’t be focused on the subject, which probably results to bad grades.

Positive relationships can help Percy’s wellbeing and decisions. In the book, Percy first stated “Her name is Sally Jackson, and she’s the best person in the world.” [Page 29]. Then later, on page 33, he says “My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She would’ve been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.” In the two examples, Percy expresses his love and respect to his mom, showing a positive relationship. Like in the article Having Good Friends Can Improve our Well-Being, Especially During the Holidays, it says on Paragraph 2, that “Researchers have found that these personal connections may be more beneficial to one’s health and well-being.” Percy and Sally’s (Percy’s mom) relationship is very close, it could be very beneficial to letting Percy stay positive, happy, have comfort, and security. Like it states on paragraph 3, “Bonds can help reduce stress, increase happiness and bolster self-confidence.” This can help make Percy have a better time with ADHD.

Percy’s choices have affected his journey throughout school, relationships, and emotions. ADHD could make Percy’s life harder, but his positive choices and activities can also help shape the person he is.