About the Alert Program ...."If your body is like a car engine, sometimes it runs on high, sometimes it runs on low, and sometimes it runs just right." When teachers, therapists, or parents use these simple words to begin the Alert Program, they enter an exciting adventure with children. The journey unfolds easily with the program's clearly defined steps for teaching self-regulation awareness. The book, How Does Your Engine Run? A Leader's Guide to the Alert Program for Self-Regulation (Williams & Shellenberger, 1996), describes an innovative program that supports children, teachers, parents, and therapists to choose appropriate strategies to change or maintain states of alertness. Students learn what they can do before a spelling test or homework time to attain an optimal state of alertness for their tasks. Teachers learn what they can do after lunch, when their adult nervous systems are in a low alert state and their students are in a high alert state. Parents learn what they can do to help their toddler's nervous system change from a high alert state to a more appropriate low state at bedtime. Leaders of the program not only learn what they can do to support self-regulation, but how to share the underlying theory so all can understand the basics of sensory integration. By reading the book or attending a conference, adults increase awareness of their own self-regulation thereby improving their ability to facilitate students' optimal functioning. The Sensory-Motor Preference Checklist (for Adults) is a tool used to support this learning process. For example by filling out the checklist, adults may discover that before work, they may drink coffee, take a brisk walk, or listen to jazzy music to get their engine up and going for the day. Or others may find that they drink hot chocolate, rock in a rocking chair, or watch the glow of a fireplace to get their engine slowed down after a busy day. Bringing to awareness what most people do automatically in their daily routines, fosters the understanding of how important self-regulation is for students' functioning. Although the Alert Program initially was intended for children with attention and learning difficulties, ages 8-12, it has been adapted for preschool through adult and for a variety of disabilities. If children are intellectually challenged or developmentally younger than the age of eight, the program's concepts can be utilized by staff to develop sensory diets (Wilbarger & Wilbarger, 1991) to enhance learning . Join the group of teachers, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, physical therapists, adapted physical educators, educational assistants, counselors, social workers, and parents who are enhancing children's lives using the Alert Program.

Alert Program®

Therapy Works Children's Program: How Does your engine run?®

Frequently Asked Questions

What is your mailing address?
Who do I make checks payable to?
Where do I mail a payment?
TherapyWorks
4901 Butte Place, NW
Albuquerque, NM 87120

What is your fax number?
You can fax directly to TherapyWorks:
(505) 899-4071.

Who are the authors of the Alert Program® Products?
Mary Sue Williams and Sherry Shellenberger

Can I email Mary Sue or Sherry directly?
Unfortunately, Sherry Shellenberger and Mary Sue Williams cannot consult or give advice on children they have not evaluated. They make every effort to talk with participants at their Alert Program® trainings to answer their questions, so participants leave feeling fully prepared to implement the Alert Program® in their home, school, or therapy settings. Email follow-ups are not possible, due to the overwhelming number of emails they would receive. Thank you for your understanding.

I need a W-9 form in order to be able to pay you.
We'd be glad to fax that to you. Please call our toll-free number at 1-877-897-3478 and request that a W-9 form be sent to you.

What is your privacy policy? Will you rent or sell my name?
To view our complete privacy policy click here. We never rent or sell your name to anyone.

I am doing research and I wanted to ask a Research Question:
TherapyWorks is very willing to do whatever we can to support research projects. Please click here to complete our online request form. Be sure and leave your daytime phone number, location and an email address.

What is the full title of the products and their ISBN#s?
Test Drive:
Introducing the Alert Program® Through Song (book and CD)
ISBN# 978-0-9643041-3-0

Alert Program® CD:
Songs for Self-Regulation (2-CD Set)
ISBN# 978-0-9643041-2-3

An Introduction to "How Does Your Engine Run?"® the Alert Program® for Self-Regulation
ISBN# 978-0-9643041-4-7

"How Does Your Engine Run?"®
A Leader's Guide to the Alert Program® for Self-Regulation
ISBN# 978-0-9643041-0-9

Take Five!
Staying Alert at Home and School
ISBN# 978-0-9643041-1-6

Do you take purchase orders?
Yes, we do take purchase orders. We'll need a copy of your purchase order faxed or mailed to us. Our fax number is 505-899-4071 and our mailing address is: TherapyWorks, 4901 Butte Place, NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120

What is your return policy?
Individual Order Return Policy: We have a 30 day full refund on the price of the product policy. Obviously, you would incur the cost of the shipping each way.

Bookstore and University Return Policy:
There is a 15% restocking charge. Returned items must be received in saleable condition. Items damaged in return shipping will not be accepted for refund.

Where should returns should be shipped to?
TherapyWorks
4901 Butte Place, NW
Albuquerque, NM 87120

International Payments:
International payment must be paid by credit card, international money order or check. Checks must be drafted on a US bank and payable in US funds. To make sure we can find the best prices to ship this to you, we'll look up the exact shipping costs for your country. In a day or so, you will receive an email from us, giving you shipping pricing and options. When you email back your decision, then your order will be processed in 1-2 days.

Canadian Orders:
We are happy to take your order here, but we do have a Canadian Distributor. Our experience has been that you receive your order more quickly (with no customs delays) and the shipping is less expensive. The Canadian Distributor is linked to our website.
Their company name is:

Tools for Kids
phone: 780-419-3314
contact: Donna Matheson
fax: 780-419-3324
Address:
1511 Lakeside Green
St. Albert, Alberta, Canada T8N 3T3
e-mail: toolsforkids@shaw.ca

Any Australia & New Zealand Orders:
We are happy to fill your order here, but we do have an Australian Distributor. Our experience has been that you receive your order more quickly (with no customs delays) and the shipping is less expensive. This distributor is an occupational therapist and carries many other complimentary products that may make it more advantageous for you to order from them.

The name of our Australian Distributor is:
Co-Ordinates OT Service
Jennifer Reed
10 Collier Crescent
Burnswick 3055 Australia
email: jenny@therapybookshop.com

UK and Ireland Orders:
We are happy to take your order here, but we do have a UK and Ireland Distributor. Our experience has been that you receive your order more quickly (with no customs delays) and the shipping is less expensive.

Their company name is:
Sensory Integration Network UK and Ireland Ltd
Address: 26 Leopardstown Grove, Blackrock, Co Dublin, Ireland
e-mail: info@sensoryintegration.org.uk
Website: www.sensoryintegration.org.uk

Ireland Orders:
We are happy to take your order here, but we do have an Ireland Distributor. Our experience has been that you receive your order more quickly (with no customs delays) and the shipping is less expensive.

Their company name is:
Thinking Toys
Address: Derg Court, Ballina, Killaloe
Co. Clare, Ireland
Website: www.thinkingtoys.ie

Which book should I order?
What's the difference between the products?
We've highlighted some of the differences between the products here. More detailed descriptions for each product is available on our product page.

ALERT! GO FISH: is an outstanding variation of the traditional Go Fish card game is sure to be a favorite in classrooms, homes, and therapy clinics. While playing ALERT: GO FISH!, children have fun while learning to identify "engine speeds" (as described in Stage One of the Leader's Guide).

ALERT BINGO: You are not going to want to miss this simple, yet engaging Bingo game variation. When playing ALERT BINGO, children have fun while learning the five ways to change engine levels (as described in Stage Two of the Leader's Guide). Rather than the five columns in a traditional Bingo game labeled B-I-N-G-O, in ALERT BINGO, the five columns are labeled Mouth, Move, Touch, Look, and Listen.

TEST DRIVE (book and CD): with its appealing songs to support children's self-regulation, is full of practical ideas and suggestions. Test Drive is the simplest way to introduce the Alert Program® concepts to children in schools, homes, or therapy settings, even if the reader is unfamiliar with the Leader's Guide or Take Five! books. Listen to a Test Drive song just once and everyone will be humming and tapping their toes to the catchy words and rhymes, perhaps not even knowing they are learning about self-regulation!

ALERT PROGRAM® CD: is a double CD set. One of the CD's is an introduction to the program with excerpts from the Leader's Guide that are read by the authors. Many enjoy listening to it in the car, rather than reading the booklet. The second CD has fun, playful songs that help children change their engine speeds. As children get familiar with the Alert Program® CD, they will get to know their favorite songs and might request a song that will help them with their engine level. For instance, a child might say something like, "Mom, it's time for me to go to sleep and my engine is running high. Could we play that song off of the Alert Program® CD?"

THE LEADER'S GUIDE: contains the complete program. It explains the theory along with step-by-step instructions and activities. It was originally written for therapists to teach children how to identify and change how alert they feel. Many teachers, parents, and therapists have taught themselves how to do the program, just by reading the book. Many then choose to attend one of the Alert Program® trainings to learn more practical, implementation ideas.

THE TAKE FIVE! BOOK: was written for parents and teachers, providing activities that are helpful to keep children alert at home and school. Many therapists recommend these low budget, easy to use activities. This book does not teach children about their engine levels, but it is organized around the five ways to change how alert we feel.

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 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.

Some people believe that they need all the products in order to do the program. Actually, the Leader's Guide is really the only essential product to be able to do the whole program. But many don't have time to teach the whole program, so they like to start with the Test Drive book and CD, Introductory booklet, Take Five book, or the Alert Program® CD. It's up to you!

And we do have a 30 day return policy, so no worries! You can start with one, try it out, and just send it back to us if you don't feel it's what you need. We really want you to find what is useful for you.

May I have a lecture schedule?
Simply click here and complete our online request form, or you may review the information online, click here.

May I have a conference/course brochure?
The conference brochure is available under the training portion of our site or simply click here.

I live in _______ (city). Are you coming to my town to do a training?
Our complete lecture schedule is available online, click here.

I am doing an Alert Program® workshop and I want to copy pages from your book… and other Copyright questions…
TherapyWorks does own the copyright to the Alert Program® and tracks its use in presentations, publications, and other projects. We have a copyright packet of information that should answer your questions. Please complete our online request form, click here.

Didn't find what you were looking for?
We'd like to answer your question. By completing our request form, a TherapyWorks employee will be able to contact you.

Copyright 2008 Therapy Works Inc. Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us
This website is best viewed at 800x600 resolution.