Last ‘Percy Jackson’ book is released as Fox shoots movie version of earlier title

From the Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly,  Austin American-Statesman:

Former middle-school teacher Rick Riordan, left, is “one of the hottest writers on the planet today,” thanks to his series of children’s books that pairs Greek mythology with a hero who has learning disabilities.

The series, which has already sold more than five million copies in the U.S., culminates this week with the release of the fifth and final installment, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Central to the concept is a hero who learns that he is the son of Poseidon. He also has ADHD and dyslexia — traits he shares with Riordan’s son, who inspired the series — and comes to understand that his learning disabilities are signs he was sired by one of the gods.

Dyslexia, you see, is simply the natural confusion that arises when you’re hard-wired to read ancient Greek but forced to read English. And ADHD? A side effect of the need to constantly survey your surroundings for monsters eager to destroy children who are part-mortal, part-god.

Twentieth Century Fox is shooting a movie version of the first book in the series. Starring Uma Thurman and Pierce Brosnan, it is expected to be released next February.

(Photo from Wall Street Journal)

From the New York Times:

Experts in medicine and education say that students with ADHD often need additional support as they head for college and move away from the informal support systems that were provided by family and friends during their high school years.

Varying class schedules, hour-long lectures and disrupted sleep routines can pose daunting hurdles for such students. Research suggests that students with ADHD are at greater risk for academic and psychological difficulties, and have lower-grade point averages, than peers without ADHD.

Tips are offered for easing the transition to college. Among them:

• Consider adjusting medications;
• Plan for a place to get refills; and
• Ask about college services.

From the Hartford Courant, Newsday, New York Times Artsbeat blog, Associated Press:

Lisa Loomer’s new play “Distracted,” which opened off-Broadway this week, explores the quandary of a modern mother faced with the possibility that her son might have attention deficit  disorder (ADD).

Played by “Sex and the City”‘s Cynthia Nixon, “Mama” attempts to balance the conflicting advice she’s getting from all sides. Loomer says she felt compelled to write the play based on her own experience as a mother in Los Angeles.

“The play is basically the mother’s journey. She’s the one who does the changing in this play, not the child. She goes from someone who believes that if you ask the right questions, if you go to the right experts you can fix things. That position is eventually challenged in the play. This may not be something she can fix. It may not even be something that needs to be fixed. What she learns is to think less in terms of the problem child and be more present with the child, with who he is.”

From the Washington Post:

Couples who have a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are nearly twice as likely to divorce or separate as couples who do not have children with the disorder, according to a definitive new study.

The reason, apparently, is that children who are inattentive or hyperactive can exacerbate conflicts, tensions and arguments between parents.

Researchers said the evidence suggests that parents are psychologically worn thin by difficult exchanges with their children, and thus have less ability to respond to other challenges calmly. Several researchers said parents need to develop techniques to improve coping skills, and to take good care of themselves.

… “Many parents do not take care of themselves. We encourage them to do that even though they may feel they have no time because of all their commitments to their families,” said Andrea Chronis-Tuscano, a psychologist who directs the University of Maryland’s ADHD Program. “One of our mantras is, ‘If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t do your best as a parent.’ “

An excerpt of a film review by Stephen Holden in the New York Times:

Would you be able to cope? That is the unspoken challenge laid down by “The Black Balloon,” a harrowing, unsentimental portrait of a middle-class Australian family whose oldest son has severe autism compounded by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Would you find in yourself the seemingly infinite reserves of love and patience possessed by the Mollisons, the movie’s itinerant, highly stressed army family who have just moved to the suburbs of Sydney? Maybe not.

See also: ‘The Black Balloon’ gets family right — Los Angeles Times

Writing in the [Lakeland, FL] Ledger, lawyer David Utter says the arrest and detention of a 9-year-old girl with mental illness at a Fort Myers special ed school is proof that the current system is failing children with disabilities. The girl was handcuffed, arrested, and charged with two felony counts for allegedly spitting at teachers and fighting restraint during a confrontation.

Utter says children with disabilities deserve to get help in a school setting, but too many are being shoved needlessly into the criminal justice system instead. Approximately 70 percent of youths referred to the Florida juvenile justice system have at least one mental health disorder.

An excerpt:

I’m sure school officials thought they were doing the right thing. But it shouldn’t take handcuffs and felony charges for a child with mental illness to get the help she needs.

In fact, this harsh approach — encouraged by zero-tolerance policies that have been in vogue for the past decade or so — is just flat wrong. And it’s not working for anyone, least of all the children who get caught up in the cold bureaucracy of courts, judges and jails.

It is this approach that is feeding Florida’s most vulnerable children into the state’s “school-to-prison pipeline” and, ultimately, into its adult prisons.

David Utter is a civil rights lawyer specializing in juvenile-justice law and director of Florida initiatives for the Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Ala.

Earlier post here.

Related story here: Mother questions use of force on student with Down syndrome — Naples [FL] Daily News

See also:

Girl, 9, jailed after classroom outburst — Fort Myers [FL] News Press

9-year-old arrested at school – WINK News, southwest Florida (with video)

From Newsday, KSEE-TV in Fresno, CA:

Howie Mandel, Emmy-nominated host of NBC’s “Deal or No Deal,” is working to raise awareness about adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) through “Adult ADHD Is Real,” a national advertising campaign.

It is estimated that more than 10 million adults in the U.S. have the disorder, or about 4.4 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 44. An excerpt:

“When I was in high school, my impulsivity led me to all kinds of acts and pranks. I had trouble sitting still and could hardly focus or pay attention in class. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I was diagnosed with ADHD … I want adults to know that it’s never too late to seek help for ADHD. I hope that sharing my story encourages people to seek help. I didn’t let ADHD prevent me from achieving my goals and neither should anyone else.”