Change in theoretical framework over the last decades and recent research in pediatric physiotherapy, has created a debate surrounding therapeutic touch. What is the role of or is there a need for handling and hands-on facilitated guidance (facilitation)? Does it limit and/or interfere with children's learning and development? It is frequently argued that therapeutic touch represents a passive and/or static approach that restricts disabled children's participation during interaction and activity in clinical encounters leading to decreased home, school and community participation. Touch may even appear as coercive and controlling. In this context, therapeutic touch is largely associated with physical hands-on activities. However, therapeutic touch can also be understood as an intersubjective phenomenon that arises from a deep connection between movement, perception, and action. We believe the significance of therapeutic touch and its impact on physiotherapy for children has not been considered from this broader, holistic perspective. In this theoretical paper, we will apply enactive concepts of embodiment, sensory-motor agency, coordination, and emergence to explore the concept and importance of touch in physiotherapists‘ clinical face-to face encounters with children. We will frame the discussion within the context of the typical sensorimotor development of children from the fetal stage to birth on and into adulthood. Moreover, we will rely on biological, physiological, and phenomenological insights to provide an extended understanding of the importance of touch and the significance of touch in clinical practice.

Clinicians should be aware of the context-dependent and interactional factors that drive the supervision process.

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A qualitative study was undertaken to explore pediatric physiotherapists' perceptions and experiences of supervising dedicated aides responsible for the daily care of preschool children with cerebral palsy. Data were collected using individual semi-structured interviews.A theme based content analysis yielded three major themes. Supervision and therapy were provided simultaneously, giving supervision a secondary priority. The physiotherapists transitioned their professional language into a common form of language to make the aides understand. The importance of letting aides attain first-person experiences of professional skills were highlighted. Implications of the findings for supervision in pediatric physiotherapy and for future research are addressed.

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