Motor planning (praxis)
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Motor planning, or praxis, is the ability to think of, plan and carry out a new or unfamiliar sequence of movements.
Topic: Motor and sensory
In plain terms
Praxis is what lets a student figure out how to climb a new piece of playground equipment or learn a dance routine. Students with motor planning difficulties may seem clumsy, need many more practice trials to learn new movements, and struggle when routines change. It can affect speech too, as in childhood apraxia of speech.
How it shows up in an IEP
Goals target learning specific routines and tasks, often broken into steps with visual or verbal cues. Data might count steps completed independently in a new task.
Example
A student learning to put on a coat with the flip method practices each step with a visual sequence card, moving from a model to independence over four weeks.
Related terms
- Childhood apraxia of speechChildhood apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder in which a child has trouble planning and coordinating the movements needed for speech.
- Gross motor skillsGross motor skills are movements of the large muscles of the body, used for walking, running, jumping, climbing, balance and coordination.
- Fine motor skillsFine motor skills are the small, precise movements of the hands and fingers used for tasks like writing, cutting, buttoning and using utensils.
- Task analysisA task analysis breaks a complex skill into a sequence of smaller, teachable steps that can be taught and tracked one at a time.
- Occupational therapy (school-based)School-based occupational therapy helps students take part in school tasks, such as handwriting, using tools, self-care and managing sensory needs.
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