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Glossary

Motor Planning (Praxis)

The brain's ability to figure out, plan and carry out an unfamiliar physical task.

Motor planning, also called praxis, is the three-step process by which the brain conceives of an action ("I want to climb onto the swing"), organises a sequence of movements, and then executes them smoothly. It is most obvious when a task is new: pouring from a jug for the first time, learning a new dance step, or copying a shape you have never drawn. Children with dyspraxia (developmental coordination disorder) have adequate muscle strength but struggle to plan novel movements, they look clumsy, take unusual routes around obstacles, or give up when a task is unfamiliar. OT intervention builds motor planning through graded novel challenges, not just repetition of familiar movements.