Percy Jackson has some behavioral issues, but that wasn’t completely his fault, with his ADHD affecting his behavior. However, that does not mean he cannot improve, and he does have some positive influences in his life to help him deal with the stress and make him feel better.  

ADHD impacts Percy’s behavior greatly, as he fidgets, and he tends to blurt things out without thinking. In Percy’s case, fidgeting can be a bad idea, since he can touch the wrong things at the wrong time, leading to disastrous results. A few examples are when he “had an accident with a Revolutionary War cannon”, or the time he “hit the wrong lever on the catwalk”, both examples stated on page 2. Field trips for him can be rather hard, especially when Nancy Bobofit is around. On page 3, when Nancy was being exceptionally distracting, he blurted “will you shut up?!”, which is not only an example of his blurting, but also an example of him “getting easily distracted” because of his ADHD, as it states in Neurodiversity: A different view of ADHD. Even though usually Percy is distracted in school, he was trying to focus when Nancy was being annoying, mostly because he’s interested in the subject being lectured. Mr. Brunner was talking about Ancient Greek stuff, and earlier in the book Percy had stated “he was the only teacher whose class didn’t put me to sleep”. People with ADHD have something called a “diffused attention style”, which means they can focus on many things at once. Even then, it‘s still possible for them to “focus when something interests them”, as stated in Neurodiversity. As it looks like Percy’s interested in Ancient Greek things, a way he might be able to become more focused in class is for the other teachers to try and include instances of Ancient Greece in their classes and subjects, giving Percy a reason to focus. ADHD people “does well in stimulating environments, meaning they like to be outside and moving their body”. Mr. Brunner “lets them play games in class”, and that provides him with a stimulating environment where he can move around. So even though his ADHD tends to make him fidget and blurt things out, there are still ways for him to improve his behavior. 

Percy had some positive relationships with the people around him, and he especially needed these, since he was surrounded by “troubled kids”, but also teachers that hate him. Some positive relationships he had was Grover, and Mr. Brunner and his mom. Good friends can make a lot of difference to people’s lives, like helping them deal with stress or making them feel happier. One example was on page 3, when Nancy was throwing her lunch at Grover. Grover had “tried to calm him down”, but even though Percy didn’t calm down completely, he did not attack Nancy Bobofit either. In Why Personal Relationships Are Important, the article mentioned that “the support offered by a caring friend can help one deal with the effects of stress”. Having a “redheaded kleptomaniac” throwing peanut butter at your friend can create some serious stress, especially in his current situation, with him on probation. Mr. Brunner also helped. In Having Good Friends Can Improve Our Wellbeing, Especially During the Holidays, an article posted by the Washington Post, experts mentioned that “friendships can help reduce stress, increase happiness, and bolster self-confidence”. In an environment where most people hated Percy, Mr. Brunner believed in Percy and that he can do well, as Percy states on page 7 that “he expected me to be better than everyone else”. On page 9, Percy said that “I so wanted to jump on a taxi and head home”. If Grover and Mr. Brunner were not at Yancy, he would have ditched a long time ago. Grover and Mr. Brunner supported Percy in his year at Yancy Academy, and when Percy was about to leave, he said “there will be things I’ll miss at Yancy”, despite of the attitude of his other peers. 

Percy’s behavior was affected by his ADHD, but there are ways he can improve. Meanwhile, Grover and Mr. Brunner provided him with some positive relationships while he was at Yancy Academy and helped him with stress. They also helped him feel better, with some positive influence in his life.