The Alert Program® helps to teach children how to change how alert they feel and to teach adults how to support learning, attending, and positive behaviours. By using an engine analogy, children learn “if your body is like a car engine, sometimes it runs on high, sometimes it runs on low, and sometimes it runs just right.”
This easy-to-teach, practical program shows parents, teachers, and therapists how to choose appropriate strategies and activities so children’s engines are running “just right.” Students learn what they can do at circle time or at homework time to attain an optimal state of alertness.
The Alert Program® was found to be effective in helping children to “self-regulate, change tasks, organise themselves, cope with sensory challenges, and focus on tasks in the classroom” (Barnes, Karin J., et al., 2008).
The Introductory Booklet is an excerpt from the first chapter of the Leader’s Guide. It is an overview of the program. Parents often use it as a resource to give to a teacher to have them understand what they are doing with their child. Therapists often give this booklet to parents to understand what their child is working on in therapy. Teachers often appreciate this concise summary of what the child might be learning at home or with their therapist.
The Introductory Booklet is also available in the Alert Program 5 pack - by Mary Sue Williams, OTR/L and Sherry Shellenberger, OTR/L -AOTA Approved Includes Introduction Booklet, How Does Your Engine Run - Leaders Guide, Test Drive - Introducing the Alert Program Through Song, Take Five - Staying Alert at Home and School, The Alert Program - Songs for Self-Regulation.
