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Each year, PAR donates to a charity selected by its Customers as a way to say thank you and to give back as part of our Pay It Forward campaign.

“PAR has been incredibly fortunate as a company,” said Kristin Greco, chief executive officer. “Rather than send our Customers an end-of-year gift, we decided a few years ago to make a charitable contribution on their behalf instead. This is the sixth year of our Pay It Forward campaign, and each year, our Customers select a different charity to honor.”

In November, PAR mailed an end-of-year communication to select Customers, thanking them for their business and asking them to choose their favorite organization from a list of three deserving charities. Results have been tallied, and PAR is proud to announce that on behalf of its Customers, a $5,000 donation will be made to Mental Health America.

“We are so inspired by the work our Customers do, and Mental Health America is doing work that is important to our Customers and to PAR,” Greco said. “It is an honor to be able to pay it forward to such a worthy organization.”

Founded in 1909, Mental Health America is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the importance of mental health as a critical part of wellness. To learn more, visit their website at mhanational.org.

 

 

#PayItForward

 

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PAR is pleased to announce that we’ve added a page to our website dedicated to our Spanish language products. This page provides a centralized source of information for our Customers looking for assessment products in Spanish.

The page is categorized by construct, each listing the specific products that have Spanish content. It also provides links to those specific product pages where customers can learn more about the product or place an order. We also offer customers a link to a brief, alphabetized listing of all our products that offer Spanish language options, along with the specific items that are available in Spanish. And we’ve included links to our Spanish language brochure and the Language Acculturation Meter page!

 You can find the new web page via this direct link or by typing parinc.com/Spanish-language-products into your browser.

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While jumping on a trampoline after school, 12-year-old Keira collided with her sister and hit her head on the back of her sister’s kneecap. She didn’t lose consciousness, but Keira developed a headache, had trouble with her balance, and her speech was slowed – all symptoms consistent with concussion.

Though commonly thought of a sports injury, concussion can result from everyday play (on trampolines, playgrounds, and even in the home), too. In 2014, individuals ages 15-24 had the highest number of TBI-related emergency department visits. From 2006 to 2014, there was an 80% increase in emergency department visits due to falls and a 58% increase due to being struck by or against an object.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, concussion “is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth.”  Symptoms include appearing dazed or stunned, not being able to recall events prior to or after a fall, moving clumsily, headache, nausea, confusion, being bothered by light or noise, and just not “feeling right.”

Though generally not life-threatening, recovery from concussion can take from a few weeks to a month or longer. For students who have experienced a concussion, returning to school or sports may take time, and some kids may need support services at school to help them while they heal.

The new PostConcussion Symptom Inventory-2 (PCSI-2) is an essential part of a multimodal concussion evaluation. Part of PAR’s ConcussTrack family of concussion products, it measures physical, emotional, cognitive, and sleep/fatigue symptoms to assist clinicians with diagnosis of concussion, monitor recovery, and manage student activities. Use alongside the PostConcussion Executive Inventory, which measures working memory, emotional control, and initiate/task completion for a thorough concussion evaluation.

 

 

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Are outdated assessment forms cluttering your office? Many Customers are unsure what to do with unused or obsolete test protocols or materials from prior versions of an instrument. Rather than letting them collect dust in a bottom drawer, PAR recommends that you destroy and discard obsolete materials in a secure manner.

If you or your institution doesn’t have access to a secure recycling program, we are happy to help! Simply e-mail custup@parinc.com or call our Customer Support line at 1.800.331.8378 and a specialist will help you obtain a prepaid return label so we may discard the materials through our own corporate recycling program. This program is available only to our Customers in the U.S.

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As our 41st year of publishing industry leading assessment materials draws to a close, let’s take a look back at some of the new tests and supplementary materials PAR released during 2019.

PostConcussion Executive Inventory: This evidence-based assessment and monitoring tool tracks a student’s functioning and recovery following concussion. It uses items from the BRIEF2, the gold-standard test for executive function.

Trails-X: This instrument is an innovative take on the traditional trail-making task that includes additional executive function demands by requiring examinees to connect circles of alternating colors with no designated start or end point.

PDDBI Parent Form in Spanish: With the introduction of this form, the Spanish-speaking population can now benefit from the PDD Behavior Inventory product family for detection, diagnosis, and progress monitoring of autism.

RIAS-2 Record Form with Spanish Responses: This form provides acceptable Spanish-language verbal response options for the RIAS-2 Guess What, Verbal Reasoning, and What’s Missing subtests. Examinees can choose to provide responses in English or in Spanish.

PostConcussion Symptom Inventory–2: This instrument measures physical, emotional, cognitive, and sleep/fatigue symptoms to assist with diagnosis of concussion; use in conjunction with the PostConconcussion Executive Inventory for a more complete evaluation of concussion.

We also made some additions to PARiConnect, our industry-leading online assessment platform.

PARiConnect 3.0: Already the industry’s most reliable platform, the completely revised PARiConnect now features a more intuitive design and incorporates Customer suggestions, such as e-mail templates and customizable groups.

Emotional Disturbance Decision Tree: Administration and scoring for the EDDT-Self Report has been added to PARiConnect. Additionally, anytime you administer and score two or more EDDT tests on PARiConnect, a Multi-Rater Summary Report will be generated.

As we move into 2020, PAR will continue to release innovative instruments. Due to be released next year are the highly-anticipated Feifer Assessment of Writing, a comprehensive test of written expression, as well as the Identi-Fi, a more appealing, up-to-date, and accurate test of visual organization. 

 

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