Customer Reviews

How Does Your Engine Run? Leader's Guide to the Alert Program for Self Regulation

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got this book on the recommendation from a friend for my son who has some sensory integration issues. This book does a fabulous job of explaining sensory integration and the nervous system to those who may have never had any knowledge or understanding of these topics before. It has really helped me understand what is happening with my son and how to handle it.

I love the real life examples and practical suggestions! I love how easy it is to follow and implement. I appreciate how it gives information on how we all regulate our states and how it gives suggestions for modifications based on different ages. This program can grow and change along with my son and will continue to be a useful tool for our family. For the price, this was a wonderful investment for our family and I highly recommend this book.

I got this book at the authors two day workshop. A must have for therapists, teachers, caregivers and parents- well written and easily understood by anyone who works or lives with individuals with sensory challenges. This book offers theory and clearly defined steps for implementation in any environment. The authors make it easy to educate team members and family members so that consistency is achieved and maintained. (They also offer a quick read Introductory Booklet that I lend to other team and family members as the first step in its use. For those who are crunched for time, I offer the Alert Program CD which has excerpts from the Leaders Guide and really fun songs for activity!! ) While this program is most frequently used for children, I have been able to modify it for adults with developmental disabilities, too.

I am on my second copy now-- I use it so often, my first copy had to retire! This book is well worth the price as it contains well designed activities for clinical, home, school and community environments. It is self-paced and easy to navigate through the stages and activities. It is user friendly for individuals and groups. Typically, after lending it to other professionals and parents, it is quickly returned because they order a copy for their own library! The individuals who support clients with sensory struggles often report that they learn something about their own "Engines" and it helps them to identify and respond adaptively, too! What a great modeling opportunity!

I did not buy this book. Because of the price I borrowed it from my library before deciding to buy it or not. I am glad I did not buy it. The book is wonderful, but it is an easy read and can be read over a weekend, so there is no need to spend the money on it.

That being said, I am very glad I borrowed this book! My 7 year old has autism and was having a problem self regulating. He would be hyper, but not bouncing off the walls hyper, just hyper in his seat. I tried to tell him he was hyper and needed to calm down. I tried to make HIM aware that he was hyper so he could calm himself down. This book very simply helped me do it. He now recognizes when he is running "on high" and we do things to bring him down a bit.

The book has charts that are great, although we drew our own chart on a wipe-off board so we could change it easily. It also has lots of games to play to stress it's point of self regulating.

I think this would be a GREAT book for anyone or any parent that wants to learn how to be more aware of their body's needs.

I do not have a single negative thing to say about this program. It works fantastic even with really tough kids. This book also includes a ton of really fun activities to practice the program. I do recommend ordering the cd with the songs on as well. This program will change your child/students/patients lives. I would also recommend this product to regular education teachers. When I was a teacher I used it in my class and it makes a big difference when the students can regulate themselves. I highly recommend this product!!!

As a new occupational therapist, I am pleased to have been introduced to the Alert Program. The Leader's Guide offers exceptional information on sensory integration and very easy to read and understand guidelines for treatment. The authors present an excellent explanation of the complex sensory systems in ways that make it easier for me, as a therapist, to explain to parents and other team members. The book is an great reference to have, as it explains how to modify the program to meet age specific criteria. It offers many activities that are incredibly useful for treatment planning!

The "Alert Program" is fantastic. I attended the "How Does Your Engine Run?" workshop my second year as an OT and feel that the leader's guide has been one of my most valuable resources in my nine years as an OT. I use the program in school and clinic settings and my clients love it. Additionally, their teachers and parents have been successful reinforcing and teaching the language and concepts without difficulty. The leader's guide is easy to follow and contains stages to guide you through the program. I have found the strategies presented in this program to be beneficial for children, teenagers and even adults that have difficulty regulating their activity level.

This book is very, very expensive for a very simplistic view on the issue. I wish things were as easy as "suck on my pencil when I'm feeling anxious" but they are far from it. We are much more complex and way deeper than it may seem from this book. For some reason when I was reading this book's description, I was led to believe that it was more comprehensive, that the material was exciting - but it wasn't. After reading it, I felt empty, and I had more questions than I had answers. Good thing, that I bought also No More Meltdowns by Jed Baker, and that book was an amazing source of answers that touch beyond physical. One thing one must agree that understanding of "How your engine runs" is a clever title, very marketable indeed, with some grain of truth in it - one must understand how their body functions and be aware, and prepared, to deal with "engine overheating" when that happens. However the book does a poor job describing patterns and psychological factors, instead concentrating on oversimplified and "self explanatory" physical ones. One feels like its almost an insult to your intelligence, that preparations you need to make in order to deal with your engine overheat are just NOT ENOUGH. In my opinion a parent needs to understand the patterns behind the overheatings to prevent them, and connect to their child on a more deeper level. But being prepared is the key, and working together with the child is the key...perhaps this book was written for 3 year old kids, but not kids who go to school? I am still scratching my head over this book, it's not what I expected from it.

This book is very informative and helpful for treatment planning as an occupational therapist. It gives step by step plans to follow the program.