ADHD - An Illustrated historical overview

I n "The Story of Johnny Head in-Air", a dreamy, distracted and inattentive child is described, who ends up falling into the water he has not seen before him. The book was not only acknowledged immediately after its publication by loud applause, but was also subject to fierce criticism directed against the terrifying images, the cruelty of the punishments, and the underlying pedagogic concept, described as "repressive and impatient" (Tresnak, 2005). However, Hoffmann's work can only be seen in the context of bourgeois society with its strict moral notions and civic values that specified how a well-behaved child was to behave. The behavioural patterns probably depict precursors of mental disorders in chil- dren such as anorexia, disorders of social behaviour, and hyperactivity. However,