I’ll bet if you asked 100 people what a brain is for, at least 99 of them would quickly respond, “to think with.” But the reality is a brain isn’t there for us to think; it is there for us to move. Plants, trees, bacteria, and fungi are not capable of independent motion; therefore, they have no need of a brain. You have probably heard that fish is brain food, but the nourishment our brains really crave is movement.

What causes clumsiness? Is it inattention to what’s going on or the result of a physically uncoordinated body? You may think your perpetually clumsy child just needs to be more careful or learn how to dance or play a sport. The reality is that many clumsy children don’t have awkward bodies at all. Their problem is in their vision or perception. Think of it this way: if children’s eyes don’t work well as team, they may bump into things because, while they can see they object, they don’t know where they are in relation to the object. If they have difficulties catching or kicking a ball, they may see the ball but not know where it is in relation to their hands or feet. The good news is that the underlying visual problems can often be easily identified and treated.