In March 1985, he took a musical hiatus to join his longtime friend Rick Hansen on his Man-In-Motion around-the-world tour.
Don writes his own music and has released many CDs to date.
His CD "Not A Planet" earned him a nomination at the 2009 Canadian Folk Awards in the Instrumental Solo Artist category.
In 2007, he became an International Fingerstyle Champion.


In 2010, he won the Guitar Superstar competition. In 2011, he took first place in the World Wide Guitar Idol competition. Don Alder was awarded the Brand Laureate Award in Malaysia in 2013.Don Alder's character appears in the 2008 film Heart of a Dragon; he is played by actor Andrew Lee Potts. The film is based on the Man In Motion tour with Rick Hansen. There is also a play called "Rick: The Rick Hansen Story," which is about the Man-In-Motion tour and also features Don Alder as a character.