Summary

The authors of this review paper suggest the perception of ADHD as a diagnostic construct, which has its own place in the specific social-historical context. They shortly describe the criteria of the diagnostics of this disorder. They stress attention on the necessity of careful differential diagnoses. They present the current views on its aetiology and describe the most often used methods of ADHD treatment. The main part of the article deals with the presentation of systemic therapists' ideas on the genesis and the development of the ADHD symptoms and the therapeutic proposals based on them. The consequences of acceptation of medical-psychiatric paradigms for the therapy of the hyperactive child and his family are discussed. The authors draw the readers' attention to the value of integration of the biological and systemic way of thinking in therapy, especially in the aspect of various meanings connected with the child taking psychostimulant drugs.