Désirée B. Maltais is Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation at the Université Laval and Researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Québec City, Canada. Dr Maltais is a physiotherapist and exercise scientist who studied under Dr Oded Bar-Or, a pioneer in exercise medicine for children with chronic health conditions. Her research expertise is in the evaluation of mobility and health-related physical fitness and interventions to improve physical activity and participation in individuals with childhood-onset disabilities. Reidun Jahnsen is a physiotherapist and Director of The Cerebral Palsy Follow-up Program at Oslo University Hospital and Head of Research at, Beitostoelen Healthsports Centre, Norway. Dr Jahnsen has clinical experience from primary and specialist health care and teaching experience from the Universities in Trondheim and Oslo. Her research expertise is in the field of (re)habilitation in early-onset childhood disabilities with a lifespan perspective. She is involved in register studies, basic research in motion analysis and in clinical research into participation in adapted physical therapy.