Touching and Massage in Early Intervention Programs

The purpose of this study was to determine what occupational therapists and instructors in early intervention programs know about touching and massage; their personal attitudes about touching and being touched; and their practices regarding the use of touch/massage with infants and children with special needs from 0 to 3 years of age. The analyzes of the data predicted that the more knowledge a participant has about touch, massage, complementary and alternative medicines, the more willing they were to use these interventions in practice. And the reverse was also predicted: where there is an attitude of more touch avoidance a participant would practice touch/massage less often in intervention.