Percy Jackson and the Olympians Fansite

mb.com has posted an article about dyslexia and ADHD and how it plays a big part in Percy Jackson. We don’t really hear about people with dyslexia or ADHD, at least I don’t. so to hear that several people working on this film have children who have dyslexia is interesting, and an eye opener.

Uma Thurman’s daughter is dyslexic, Rick Riordan’s son is dyslexic and has ADHD and it was this reason that inspired Percy Jackson. And in an interview we posted earlier, we found out that Chris Columbus’ daughter is dyslexic.

Originally woven and written for his child, Rick Riordan’s best selling book series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” now forms part of society’s answer to dyslexia among the young.

The novels draw on Riordan’s experience with his son, who was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.

After recounting the stories of gods and heroes, he ran out of myths and his son asked him to make up a new story.

Over the course of a few nights the story of Percy Jackson came to life and at the suggestion of his son, he wrote what became “The Lightning Thief.”

Now a major motion picture, 20th Century Fox brings to life Greek mythology’s gods and goddesses with a contemporary twist in the most unusual and highly entertaining way helmed by “Harry Potter’s” original director Chris Columbus.

The story centers on an unusual hero, Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), who at first appears to be an ordinary (actually struggling) teenager. In fact, we soon learn that he is the son of the great god of the sea, Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). His mother is a mortal woman, Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener).

Percy, who suffers from dyslexia, is forced to confront his destiny because Zeus (Sean Bean) is convinced that this teenager is responsible for stealing his precious and all-powerful lightning bolt.

As a result, Percy is swept up in a battle between the mighty, legendary deities. To make matters even more complicated, Hades (Steve Coogan) has kidnapped his mother, Sally. Percy must prove his innocence, avert an epic conflict and rescue his mother.

“In the beginning you find out he’s just like any kid with a learning disability, he has dyslexia. He’s had to overcome those difficulties his whole life and you find out that this disability actually works to his advantage as a demigod. The film really has a universal theme, because everybody goes through this kind of journey of trying to find out who they are. That’s really the underlying theme of the whole film along with a lot of action, adventure, and Greek mythology,” says Lerman.

First he must go to a special retreat for others like him: Camp Half Blood. Then he embarks on his perilous expedition: supported by his childhood friend, Grover (Brandon Jackson). It turns out that Grover himself is no mere mortal. He is a courageous satyr. Also on the journey is another demigod: Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), daughter of the goddess Athena.

EMPOWERING THE DYSLEXIC

The all-out adventure also includes share along with the other cast a passion for empowering the dyslexic. Uma Thurman who plays Medusa thinks this is great because she has a daughter who’s dyslexic and she herself was a dyslexic.

“This is a very empowering idea for children and is a subject very close to me. It is hard for children who are wonderful but who have something that challenges them, which makes it hard for them to feel equal and can make them feel inadequate because of the way in which we choose to educate and learn.”

She continues that being dyslexic can be incredibly discouraging because there’s a huge range or spectrum, but many dyslexics are highly articulate, highly verbal people and very expressive.

“They have extreme gifts in that area. And if you find yourself shut out from being able to express your thoughts and unable to read the thoughts of others, it is difficult. By the way, being a powerful oral learner is incredible too, it is part of what makes me an actress.”

Rosario Dawson, on the other hand, finds it interesting that there are nine-year-olds with cell phones these days and kids are becoming mature at a younger age and the correlation with the increasing number of kids getting diagnosed with conditions like ADD (attention deficit disorder).

“So I think kids have to be so cognizant of what their gifts are. It is appealing to put a twist on all of that.”

[Source: MB.com]