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Motor Planning

What it’s like when half your body doesn’t work properly

From Study.com:

Motor planning is the ability to assess a motor activity, plan and organize how to carry out that motor activity, and finally implement motor skills to achieve that motor activity.

I became aware of the term motor planning at a recent physical therapy session where the therapist asked me to complete a simple task of walking up a step then placing an object on the adjacent window sill. I told her how I planned to do each step out loud. She commented this was good motor planning. It was then I realized what a big part of life this is.

Most of us don’t think about motor planning. We take it for granted because it’s automatic. I have been gifted with a disability which makes me appreciate every move I make.

The left half of my body became paralyzed when I had a stroke at 35. I slowly had to re-learn how to move. My body has never fully cooperated in the 20 years since the stroke.

This forces me to engineer every movement and activity of daily living. From getting clothes on and off, to getting groceries into the house from the car, I have to mentally map out each move considering the limitations of my body.