Dyslexia is often misunderstood and is used as a catch-all term for reading disorders. However, other lesser-known reading disorders often mimic dyslexia, such as Specific Reading Comprehension Deficits (S-RCD). While people with dyslexia struggle to sound out words and often confuse letters, people with S-RCD can decode words but struggle to understand what they read.

In an interview, celebrity Jennifer Aniston shared that she grew up believing she was stupid, revealing that she was finally diagnosed with dyslexia at age 20.  Other celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Cruise also revealed they were diagnosed with dyslexia. It is very common for dyslexia not to be discovered until adulthood; therefore, people grow up with low self-esteem thinking they aren’t smart and that something is wrong with them. Yet according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, there’s no correlation between dyslexia and intelligence. Many people diagnosed with this disorder have normal or above-average intelligence.

S-RCD often goes undiagnosed until it becomes an unavoidable problem. According to Neuroscience News, “Neuroimaging of children showed that the brain function of those with S-RCD while reading is quite different and distinct from those with dyslexia. Those with dyslexia exhibited abnormalities in a specific region in the occipital-temporal cortex, a part of the brain that is associated with successfully recognizing words on a page.”

A few months ago, the Mississippi Board of Education notified 5,612 third grade students that they failed to pass the reading test that would allow them to enter the fourth grade. While some deemed the test unfair, Governor Bryant believes that taking a tough stance is the best course of action in the long run, crediting his own fourth grade teacher with discovering that his reading disability was caused by dyslexia, and helping him overcome it. “Repeating the third grade was the best thing that ever happened to me,” the governor said.

Because of its prominence in the news, dyslexia often overshadows other reading disorders. In schools, it is necessary to break down reading disabilities, or learning disabilities in general, and match the disability with intervention strategies to assist the student. Once the underlying causes of reading disabilities are understood, school personnel can use their knowledge to help students understand their strengths and weaknesses regarding reading and language.

What do you think? PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IadhMXIQWuU

Looking for an easy and effective way to track classroom behavior? Look no further than the DBR Connect. The DBR is an online tool that allows teachers, administrators, and school-based intervention teams to rate classroom behavior quickly and easily and track it over time.

 Based on more than a decade of research, DBR Connect was developed by school psychologists Drs. Sandra Chafoules and T. Chris Riley-Tillman, who know educators and school psychologists need a customizable assessment that requires limited materials and virtually no paperwork and can be completed quickly.

 Using built-in, easy-to-use sliders, users rate three core student behaviors—Academically Engaged, Disruptive, and Respectful—which studies have shown are the keys to school success. Users can also add customized behaviors tailored to their unique student population, such as “Uses cell phone during class.”

 In just a few minutes per day, teachers can easily monitor student behavior online and determine if intervention strategies are working. Results can be tracked by the behavior, by the student, by the teacher, across a school, or across an entire district. Charts and reports offer intervention recommendations.

Learn more about DBR Connect today!

 

When we think of self-esteem, the first thing that comes to mind is feeling good about ourselves. Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote the classic, The Power of Positive Thinking, is considered the father of self-esteem. He made the idea of positive thinking a phenomenon. In his follow-up book, Positive Imaging: The Powerful Way to Change Your Life, he said, “There is a powerful and mysterious force in human nature that is capable of bringing about dramatic improvement in our lives. It is a kind of mental engineering... So powerful is the imaging effect on thought and performance that a long-held visualization of an objective or goal can become determinative... This releases powerful internal forces that can bring about astonishing changes.”

Merely thinking good thoughts and speaking positively may provide temporary benefits, resulting in pseudo-self-esteem. Psychotherapist Nathaniel Branden, author of The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A Revolutionary Approach to Self-Understanding That Launched a New Era in Modern Psychology, describes pseudo-self-esteem as “an irrational pretense at self-value” and “a nonrational, self-protective device to diminish anxiety and to provide a spurious sense of security.”

Genuine self-esteem goes beyond imaging and visualization. Those things may play a role, but they are just one piece of the puzzle. The other piece is doing good, according to Hartwell-Walker, a licensed psychologist and marriage and family therapist and author of Self-Esteem: A Guide to Building Confidence and Connection One Step at a Time. She states, “Cultivating genuine self-esteem takes work and awareness. It’s a lifelong process. It means balancing ‘our feelings with our doings.’”

Though self-esteem and self-confidence often seem to go hand in hand, it is possible to have one without the other. Confidence is often the result of successful activity. The more success one has, the more confident that person will be on the next attempt. Therefore, confidence largely operates within the realm of the known. But esteem has to do with perception of one’s own inherent value.

According to Hartwell-Walker, the two parts of genuine self-esteem constantly interact with each other. “Feeling good about ourselves is the outcome of doing good things and doing good things (things that contribute to our community and to others’ well-being) is what makes us feel good.” Positivity without action leads to pseudo-self-esteem, and action without positivity leads to confidence without esteem.

What do you think about the difference between self-esteem and self-confidence? PAR wants to hear from you, so leave a comment and join the conversation!

The wait is over! The gold-standard rating scale you’ve come to trust for executive function assessment is now even better. Developed by practicing pediatric neuropsychologists, the BRIEF2 continues to be as efficient, comprehensive, and consistent with current models of executive function as its predecessor but with enhanced features.

• Parallel structure. Parent, Teacher, and Self-Report forms are now in one manual. Items are now more parallel across forms.


• Concise scales. New scale structure reduces the burden on the parent, teacher, or adolescent respondent.


• Increased sensitivity. Quickly identify executive function problems in key clinical groups such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.


• New screening forms. In 5 minutes, determine whether a full executive function assessment is needed.


• Updated norms. Normative data were drawn from a large, diverse, nationally stratified sample of individuals from all 50 U.S. states.

The BRIEF2 is available now! Order today: A Comprehensive Parent/Teacher/Self-Report Hand-Scored kit is just $330 or a Parent/Teacher Hand-Scored kit is just $250! The BRIEF2 is available for administration, scoring, and interpretation on PARiConnect.

If so, were you aware that you may apply for research support? All applications for research support require administrative review of the research project. To see if your project meets the criteria and to go through the evaluation process, e-mail Customer Support.

Many tests and materials sold by PAR are available only to those professionals who are appropriately trained to administer, score, and interpret psychological tests. Eligibility to purchase restricted materials is determined on the basis of training, education, and experience. Here's a quick tutorial on our qualification levels and what you need to do to make sure your credentials are up-to-date.

Qualification Level: A

No special qualifications are required, although the range of products eligible for purchase is limited.

Qualification Level: B

A degree from an accredited 4-year college or university in psychology, counseling, speech-language pathology, or a closely related field plus satisfactory completion of coursework in test interpretation, psychometrics and measurement theory, educational statistics, or a closely related area; or license or certification from an agency that requires appropriate training and experience in the ethical and competent use of psychological tests.

Certain healthcare providers may be eligible to purchase selected B and C level instruments within their area of expertise.

Qualification Level: C

All qualifications for Level B plus an advanced professional degree that provides appropriate training in the administration and interpretation of psychological tests, or license or certification from an agency that requires appropriate training and experience in the ethical and competent use of psychological tests.

Certain healthcare providers may be eligible to purchase selected B and C level instruments within their area of expertise.

Qualification Level: S

A degree, certificate, or license to practice in a healthcare profession or occupation, including (but not limited to) the following: medicine, neurology, nursing, occupational therapy and other allied healthcare professions, physician's assistants, psychiatry, social work; plus appropriate training and experience in the ethical administration, scoring, and interpretation of clinical behavioral assessment instruments.

Any PAR Customer already qualified to purchase a B or C level product is also qualified to purchase an S level product.

To establish your Qualification Level, you can either download a PAR Customer Qualification Form (you will need Adobe Acrobat to view and print the form for submission to PAR), or you can complete the Registration and Qualification process online (see Registration Help for details).

 

Are you attending the National Academy of Neuropsychology Annual Conference? Make sure to stop by the PAR booth (104, 106, and 108) to check out some of our new and upcoming releases. We will have copies of the new Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales™, Second Edition (RIAS™-2), the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile™ (ChAMP™), and more on hand. Plus, preview and preorder your copy of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®, Second Edition (BRIEF®2)!

Don’t miss a presentation by Brian L. Brooks, PhD, co-author of the ChAMP and the upcoming Memory Validity Profile™ (MVP), who will be presenting a CE workshop, Advanced Pediatric Assessment, Thursday, November 5 at 1 p.m.

Remember, all orders placed at the PAR booth during NAN, including preorders, will receive 15% off as well as free ground shipping and handling!

Interested in learning more about the Personality Assessment Inventory™ (PAI®)? A 45-minute training course on the PAI is now available through the PAR Training Portal. This free, interactive course will give you a quick overview of the product, explain what makes it unique, and provide insight into how it was developed. You will learn a bit about each of the PAI’s 22 nonoverlapping scales and how to interpret the assessment as a whole. And, best of all, the Training Portal is always available, so you can learn more on your schedule.

The PAI has been recognized as one of the most important innovations in the field of clinical assessment. An objective inventory of adult personality, the PAI assesses psychopathological syndromes and provides information relevant for clinical diagnosis, treatment planning, and screening for psychopathology.

To access the Training Portal, use your parinc.com username and password to log in. Don’t have a free account? Register now.

Training courses are also available on the Vocabulary Assessment Scales™ (VAS™), the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™), the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™), the Academic Achievement Battery™ (AAB™), the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile™ (ChAMP™), and the Feifer Assessment of Reading™ (FAR™).

We are pleased to announce the release of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales™, Second Edition (RIAS™-2) by Cecil R. Reynolds, PhD, and Randy W. Kamphaus, PhD. The RIAS-2 retains all the features that made the original instrument so popular and gives practitioners even more reason to trust this instrument.

The revised assessment, which was developed by the original authors using feedback from clinicians around the country, remains true to the original test. It’s still fast, cost effective, and simple to administer and can be used across the developmental continuum to assess intelligence and its major components from ages 3 to 94 years.

 The RIAS-2:

• Assesses both verbal and nonverbal intelligence. Verbal intelligence is assessed by measuring verbal problem solving and verbal reasoning, which uses acquired knowledge and skills. Nonverbal intelligence is assessed by measuring reasoning and spatial ability using novel situations and stimuli.


• Optional memory subtests available. Verbal and nonverbal memory is assessed via the Composite Memory Index, useful when a broad estimate of memory is desired.


• Yields a General Reasoning Index (GRI). A highly reliable score, the GRI reflects overall measurement of the general factor of reasoning and problem-solving skill.


• Informs decisions in classification, selection, and educational placement. The RIAS-2 is ideal as a stand-alone intellectual assessment or as part of a clinical battery, when a standardized assessment of intellectual functioning is needed to diagnose specific disorders such as intellectual disabilities or learning disabilities, and for educational placement.

New in the RIAS-2

• New speeded processing subtests and index. Two supplemental subtests (one verbal, one nonverbal) combine to create the Speeded Processing Index (SPI). Both the Speeded Naming Task and Speeded Picture Search subtests require far less motor skill than competitive measures.


• Greater data for interpretation. Reliable change scores and ability–achievement discrepancies with the AAB are provided.


• Revised basal/ceiling rules. Now all basal and ceiling rules for the subtests are consistent with one another and allow for more accurate assessment at the lowest and highest ability level.


• Revised/new item content. Items throughout the test have been updated to eliminate confusing or outdated content. Guess What, Odd-Item Out, Verbal Reasoning, What’s Missing, Verbal Memory, and Nonverbal Memory subtests appear in this update, retaining the structure and familiarity of the original measure.


• Wider range of T scores. For most grade levels, T score ranges of at least 25 to 75 are available.

Technical product information and more details on what is new with this revision are available on our Web site.

PAR is proud of what we publish and we think you will be thrilled with all of our products. We never want you to be disappointed in anything you purchase. Therefore, we offer a no-risk guarantee on all of our print products. To receive a full refund, including the cost of ground/regular shipping and handling charges, return the merchandise in resalable condition with a copy of your invoice. After 45 days, shipping and handling charges cannot be refunded. Software returns must be made within 90 days.

For more specific questions on returns, contact Customer Support.