Why Your Own Engine Matters
If you are an occupational therapist, teacher, or caregiver using the Alert Program®, you understand how essential it is to help others notice, describe, and adjust their “engine levels.”
But have you asked yourself: How is MY engine running?
The Alert Program® is grounded in the idea that self-regulation begins with sensorimotor awareness, not by starting with emotions or feelings. This means noticing internal states like restlessness or fatigue and meeting those needs with intentional sensorimotor strategies. These strategies are not luxuries or indulgences. They are important tools that help you get to and stay in the right level of alertness to teach, care for, and support others effectively.
Reminder: Put Your Oxygen Mask on First
We’ve all heard the advice to put on our own oxygen mask before helping others, but how many of us actually commit to this self-care practice?
It sounds so simple, yet it is often overlooked in the business of caring for others. The idea is not selfish…it is practical. If you pass out from lack of oxygen, you cannot help anyone. Similarly, if you fail to recognize and support your own sensorimotor needs, you will not be able to model or support self-regulation effectively for those you serve.
If your own engine has not been supported consistently…
If you are someone who loves to give, who leads with heart, but neglects your own care…
Consider this your invitation to change that. Prioritizing your own regulation is not only caring for yourself… it is ensuring you have the capacity to truly be there for others.
The Role of the Leader
Many therapists spend years training themselves to understand sensorimotor regulation in depth. This knowledge is invaluable, but it can also feel overwhelming when you’re trying to help everyone in need. How can you repackage that expertise and share it effectively with your community?
It begins with caring for your own engine first, ensuring you avoid burnout and truly model regulation for others. From there, it’s about creating a clear, incremental plan that relies on trusted strategies and shared language so supporting self-regulation becomes a collaborative effort across schools, teams, families, and environments…not something resting on one person’s shoulders.
Do you need help implementing Alert Program® in your community? Contact us here!
Understanding Alert Levels
Self-regulation is often misunderstood as being limited to “emotional control” or simply “managing feelings.” But the Alert Program® emphasizes that our nervous system states—our arousal or “alert” levels—set the stage for everything else.
Emotional, social, and cognitive regulation depend on this foundation. When your engine is in high gear, you might feel distracted, irritable, or reactive. When it is too low, you might feel disengaged, sluggish, or unmotivated. Neither state is wrong. But both require awareness and the ability to choose strategies to return to an optimal level for the situation.
Building Awareness of Your Own Patterns
This process is not about suppressing feelings or pushing through discomfort with willpower. It is about recognizing the body’s cues and responding effectively. That is why the Alert Program® encourages leaders to observe their own patterns carefully.
When do your alert levels tend to spike or dip? What situations predictably leave you unsettled, scattered, or drained? What sensorimotor strategies do you already use without even thinking (like tapping your foot, chewing gum, stretching, rocking slightly, or fidgeting with objects)?
These observations are the foundation of building respectful, personalized self-care routines.
Bottom-Up Strategies for Regulation
The Alert Program® emphasizes bottom-up strategies (sensorimotor input that supports the nervous system to achieve and maintain optimal alert levels). These approaches are more effective than relying on top-down reminders to “stay calm” or “pay attention.”
For example, proprioceptive input (often called “heavy work”) such as pushing, pulling, carrying objects, yoga, or stretching can help regulate alert levels. Oral motor input—like chewing crunchy snacks, sipping tea, or using a straw—can be calming, alerting, or even both, depending on the person. Movement strategies, whether walking, gentle rocking, or shifting in a chair, can also help maintain a balanced state. Tactile experiences, such as fidget tools or playing with textures, offer additional ways to self-regulate.
These strategies are highly individualized. What is calming or alerting for one person may not work the same way for someone else. This is why the Alert Program® includes tools like the Sensory-Motor Preference Checklist to help adults identify their own preferences.
Effective self-care is not something you do only when you are in crisis. It requires intentionally providing your nervous system with a steady diet of the input it needs throughout the day. That might mean planning movement breaks between sessions or classes, keeping crunchy snacks or water bottles nearby, scheduling time to stretch or walk during transitions, or using fidget tools during meetings.
Modeling Self-Care for Others
When leaders demonstrate respect for their own needs, they show children and colleagues that self-care is normal, important, and necessary. They help create environments where sensorimotor differences are understood, accepted, and normalized. And they offer genuine co-regulation, helping others feel safer and more settled simply by being with them. Your nervous system is a resource.
By caring for yourself intentionally, you make yourself available as a steady, responsive, and compassionate presence.
Alert Program® Resources to Support You
If you want structured support for learning and sharing these strategies, consider who in your community could benefit from these courses:
- The Alert Program® Online Course offers a complete clinical framework for helping recognize and adjust alert levels using practical, developmentally appropriate strategies.
- The Your Best Self Online Course is designed for those who want to understand and support their own (and their community’s) sensorimotor needs, without the clinical background.
We invite you to prioritize yourself…so you can truly support those who rely on you!
Explore the Alert Program® Online Course and Your Best Self: The Alert Program® for All, or contact us for group discounts.
References:
- Ayres, A. J. (2005). Sensory integration and the child: Understanding hidden sensory challenges (25th anniversary ed.). Western Psychological Services.
- Bundy, A. C., Lane, S. J., & Murray, E. A. (2002). Sensory integration: Theory and practice. F.A. Davis.
- Champagne, T., et al. (2010). Sensory modulation approaches use sensory input to influence the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby regulating physiological arousal and supporting well‑being. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64(4), 555–566.
- Mah, J. W. T., et al. (2023). Feasibility and efficacy of the Alert Program® for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28(3), 924–936. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591045231162680
