Sensory processing
Understanding Motor Planning in Sensory Disorders
Motor planning, or praxis, is the ability of the brain to conceive, organize, and execute skilled, non-habitual motor acts.
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Key Takeaways
- Motor planning, also called praxis, is the brain's ability to conceive, organize, and execute skilled, non-habitual motor acts.
- It has three parts: ideation (the idea of what to do), planning (how to do it) and execution (doing it).
- Difficulty shows differently with age: late self-care skills in a toddler, handwriting and playground games at school, organization and new skills such as driving in the teenage years.
- Poor motor planning is not a diagnosis on its own; when it meets formal criteria the diagnosis is developmental coordination disorder.
- The best-supported help works directly on the activities a child needs, with plenty of practice at home and school; the evidence for sensory integration therapy is limited and inconclusive.
What is motor planning (praxis)?
Motor planning, or praxis, is the ability of the brain to conceive, organize, and execute skilled, non-habitual motor acts. Each day, we perform a wide range of actions that require the integration of sensory information and the preparation of motor movements. However, for individuals with sensory disorders, this complex process can present significant challenges.
Jean Ayres, who developed sensory integration theory, described praxis as the basis for dealing with the physical environment in an adaptive way: dressing, eating with utensils, playing, writing, building.5 “Non-habitual” is the key word. A movement done a thousand times runs on its own; a new one, or an old one in a new setting, has to be planned.
That is where difficulty shows. In children with developmental coordination disorder, problems are most apparent in tasks that need more advanced planning, more precision, or two things at once, and skills take longer to become automatic.1
What are the three steps of motor planning?
Praxis is described as three components: ideation, which is forming the idea of an action; motor planning, which is organizing how to do it; and execution, which is carrying it out.5
| Step | What happens | What difficulty can look like |
|---|---|---|
| Ideation | Seeing what the climbing frame could be used for | Standing at the bottom with no idea how to start, or repeating one familiar move |
| Planning | Working out where hands and feet go, and in what order | Getting the order wrong; stopping halfway, unsure of the next move |
| Execution | Doing it, adjusting as it happens | Clumsy, slow or effortful movement even when the plan is right |
The steps can come apart. Ideation was part of Ayres’s account but was not assessed directly until later; one researcher has since distinguished ideational dyspraxia, difficulty with the idea itself, from other praxis problems.5
What do motor planning difficulties look like by age?
In a toddler it usually shows as self-care and play skills arriving late; at school, as handwriting, dressing and playground games that stay hard; in a teenager, as disorganization and trouble learning new skills.7,1
| Age | What you might notice |
|---|---|
| Toddler and preschool | Skills on CDC’s checklists arriving late: by 3, putting on some clothes and using a fork; by 4, catching a large ball most of the time, pouring with supervision and holding a crayon between fingers and thumb; by 5, buttoning some buttons and hopping on one foot.7 |
| School age | Handwriting is a particular problem, and many children are referred for it. From about age 5 children compare their abilities with peers, especially in sport and playground games, and repeated failure there affects confidence and leads to avoidance.1 |
| Teenage years | Motor difficulties continue into adolescence in 50 to 70 percent of children with coordination disorder, learning new skills such as driving can be hard, and problems with planning and organization in daily life persist into early adulthood.1 |
Our page on delayed motor milestones covers what to do when early skills are late, and the one on postural difficulties covers the child whose trouble is staying steady rather than planning.
Is poor motor planning the same as dyspraxia or DCD?
Not exactly: poor motor planning is a description, “dyspraxia” is a widely used but loosely defined term for it, and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is the formal diagnosis when specific criteria are met.1
International guidance does not recommend the term dyspraxia, because it is used with different and sometimes broader meanings, and recommends DCD, the DSM-5 term, instead. A diagnosis needs four things: motor skills well below what is expected for age and opportunity, a significant and persistent effect on daily life or school, no better explanation in another condition, and onset in childhood. Estimates of 5 to 6 percent of children are the most often quoted.1
In the sensory integration classification proposed in 2007, dyspraxia is one of two sensory-based motor disorders, defined as difficulty in motor planning and sequencing movements.6,2 That classification sits outside the diagnostic manuals, and the American Academy of Pediatrics advises that sensory processing disorder generally should not be diagnosed because there is no universally accepted framework for it.3 Our pages on dyspraxia and DCD and sensory-based motor disorder go further.
How is motor planning assessed?
By a pediatric occupational or physical therapist, usually with a history from parents and teachers, observation of the child doing everyday tasks, and standardized motor tests such as the MABC-2 or BOT-2.1
The guidance asks for a history covering self-care, school work, play and sport from several sources, a clinical examination that rules out other causes, and a standardized test; questionnaires completed by parents or teachers add information.1 Some occupational therapists also use the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests, from which Ayres identified distinct patterns of praxis difficulty.5 Under age 5, a formal diagnosis is recommended only for severe difficulty, confirmed on two assessments at least three months apart.1 You can find a pediatric occupational therapist near you.
What helps a child with motor planning difficulties?
Working directly on the activities the child needs, with plenty of practice: international guidance gives its strongest recommendation to activity- and participation-oriented approaches, and a 2025 meta-analysis found task-oriented approaches the most effective for motor skills.1,4 The same meta-analysis found no gain in participation, which is why practice at home and school matters as much as the sessions.4 Of the strategies below, the ones with the best support are the ones closest to real life; our overview of sensory and motor disorder treatment covers the wider range of options.
Occupational therapy for motor planning
Occupational therapy (OT) is often a cornerstone of motor planning improvement, especially when focused on fine motor skills and coordination. Sessions are individualized, with activities that range from simple, such as threading beads, to complex, like planning and executing a multi-step craft project. Recommended approaches include task-specific training and Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP).1 In CO-OP the child sets the goals with the therapist, works out strategies through a general problem-solving approach, and the family is involved so that practice continues between sessions.8 Our page on occupational therapy for dyspraxia covers it in detail.
Does sensory integration therapy help motor planning?
Sensory integration therapy uses activities believed to help organize how sensory information is processed, providing movement, body-position, sound and touch input with swings, brushes, balls and other equipment.3 The American Academy of Pediatrics says the research on its effectiveness is limited and inconclusive; it may be acceptable as one part of a broader plan, and families should agree a trial period and a way to judge whether it is working.3 For children with coordination disorder, the international guidance also rates the evidence as inconclusive.1
Do weighted pencils and special equipment help?
Weighted pencils, specialized seating and desk arrangements are sometimes suggested to give more feedback or more support while a child writes or sits. Treat any of them as a trial: agree what should change, such as legibility, speed or how tired the hand gets, and check after a few weeks. For handwriting difficulty, the guidance suggests practicing handwriting itself and teaching keyboarding early alongside it.1
Visual schedules and cues for multi-step routines
Visual schedules, picture sequences and color-coded steps put the plan outside the child’s head, which is a reasonable thing to try for a multi-step routine such as getting dressed. The approach is the same as with equipment: decide what should get easier, and check whether it does.
Reducing distractions while a new skill is learned
Children with coordination difficulties find dual tasks especially hard.1 While a new skill is being learned, reducing what competes with it — noise, visual clutter, talking while doing — lets the child put their effort into the movement.
How daily routines build motor planning skills
A routine is practice. The guidance asks that children have ample opportunity to practice movement skills at home, at school and in leisure, particularly skills that are complex or need a lot of planning, and that therapists advise parents and teachers on how to help.1
Motor planning activities to try at home
The most useful home practice is the real thing, broken into steps and repeated often enough to become easy, because practice in everyday settings is what the guidance asks for.1 A few ways to build it into the week:
- Change the obstacle course. Cushions to crawl over, a table to go under, a line to walk along; move one piece each day so there is something new to plan.
- Build from a picture. Blocks or construction toys copied from a photo or drawing.
- Kitchen jobs. Pouring, spreading, stirring and setting the table are multi-step tasks with a clear goal.
- Dressing in steps. Practice one step at a time, such as the last button or the second shoe, and let the child finish the job.
- Ball games. Rolling, then bouncing, then throwing and catching, at whatever level is nearly but not quite easy.
Pick activities your child wants to do: the guidance asks that practice be meaningful to the child, and a skill a child cares about is one they will repeat.1
Frequently Asked Questions
What is motor planning in children?
Motor planning, also called praxis, is the brain's ability to conceive, organize, and execute skilled, non-habitual motor acts. It has three parts: having the idea for a movement, planning it, and carrying it out.
Can a weighted pencil help my child with writing?
It is worth a trial: agree what should change, such as legibility, and check after a few weeks. For handwriting difficulty in coordination disorders, the approach international guidance suggests is practicing handwriting itself, with keyboarding taught early alongside it.
How can occupational therapy help my child with motor planning?
Occupational therapy works directly on the activities your child needs, such as dressing, handwriting or a playground game. International guidance recommends this activity-focused approach, including methods such as CO-OP, in which the child learns a problem-solving strategy to apply to new tasks.
Why does a daily routine help a child with sensory difficulties?
A routine means the same sequence is practiced the same way every day, and practice is how a planned movement becomes automatic. International guidance asks for plenty of opportunity to practice, especially for skills that need a lot of planning.
How can I change our home environment to help my child focus on tasks?
Reduce what competes with the task while a new skill is being learned: noise, clutter, and doing two things at once. Children with coordination difficulties find dual tasks especially hard, so one step at a time, in a quiet space, makes the planning easier.
What are the three parts of motor planning?
Ideation, which is having the idea of what to do; motor planning, which is working out how to do it; and execution, which is carrying it out. A child can struggle at any of the three.
Is motor planning difficulty the same as dyspraxia?
Not exactly. Dyspraxia is often used for motor planning difficulty, but international guidance recommends the term developmental coordination disorder for the formal diagnosis, which has specific criteria. In the sensory integration classification, dyspraxia means difficulty planning and sequencing movements.
Sources
- Blank R, et al. International clinical practice recommendations on the definition, diagnosis, assessment, intervention, and psychosocial aspects of developmental coordination disorder. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2019; 61(3). doi:10.1111/dmcn.14132
- Miller LJ, et al. Concept Evolution in Sensory Integration: A Proposed Nosology for Diagnosis. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2007; 61(2). doi:10.5014/ajot.61.2.135
- Zimmer M, et al. Sensory Integration Therapies for Children With Developmental and Behavioral Disorders. Pediatrics. 2012; 129(6). doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0876
- Gao J, Yang Y, Xu X, Huang D, Wu Y, et al. Motor-based interventions in children with developmental coordination disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sports Medicine – Open. 2025;11(1):59. doi:10.1186/s40798-025-00833-w (PMID 40419841).
- Lane SJ, Mailloux Z, Schoen S, Bundy A, May-Benson TA, Parham LD, et al. Neural foundations of Ayres Sensory Integration. Brain Sciences. 2019;9(7):153. doi:10.3390/brainsci9070153 (PMID 31261689).
- Miller LJ, Nielsen DM, Schoen SA, Brett-Green BA. Perspectives on sensory processing disorder: a call for translational research. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. 2009;3:22. doi:10.3389/neuro.07.022.2009 (PMID 19826493).
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC’s Developmental Milestones (Learn the Signs. Act Early.), milestone pages for 2 months to 5 years. cdc.gov/act-early/milestones. Checked October 5, 2026.
- Madieu E, Gagné-Trudel S, Therriault PY, Cantin N. Effectiveness of CO-OP approach for children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review. Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation. 2023;5(2):100260. doi:10.1016/j.arrct.2023.100260 (PMID 37312979)
Medical disclaimer. This page is for general educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider about your child.