Specify Alternate Text

Though commonly thought of as a sports injury, concussion can occur as the result of everyday play, too. Each year, more than 1 million children and adolescents are diagnosed with a concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).  About 30% of these injuries are non-sports related.

When children and adolescents return to school following a diagnosis of concussion, they may have functional difficulties (like trouble concentrating, memory problems, and irritability) that can affect their ability to perform and learn in school.

The new PostConcussion Executive Inventory™ is an evidence-based instrument for children ages 5 to 18 years used to assess functioning and monitor recovery following concussion. It measures change in cognitive and emotional regulation to determine if postconcussion-related behaviors are due to concussion or were present prior to injury. This information helps schools develop appropriate return-to-learn plans that address the student’s specific postinjury needs, which may include temporary accommodations and interventions.

Items for the PostConcussion Executive Inventory, the first in a new ConcussTrack™ suite of products, were selected from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®, Second Edition, the gold-standard rating form for executive function testing. 

Learn more about students returning to school following concussion on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HEADS UP to Schools webpage. 

Specify Alternate Text

The PDDBI family of products is growing! Free interactive training on how to use PDDBI products is now available on the PAR Training Portal. Whether you are a long-time user and want a greater understanding of the product or are considering purchasing for the first time, this course will give you greater insight into the assessment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the decisions made when developing the PDDBI, and how the different components work together. The PAR Training Portal is a free, on-demand resource available 24/7. Visit partrainingportal.com today!

 

In addition, we are pleased to announce the release of the PDDBI Parent Form in Spanish! In addition to the Spanish form, we are releasing a white paper by Amy Kovacs Giella that explains the translation process. According the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 13% of the U.S. population primarily speaks Spanish at home. With autism diagnoses steadily rising, identification of Spanish-speaking individuals who may be at risk is vitally important. With the introduction of the PDDBI Parent Form in Spanish, this significant portion of the population can now benefit from the PDD Behavior Inventory product family for detection, diagnosis, and progress monitoring.

Specify Alternate Text

Life is all about making choices. The Trails-X improves on traditional trail-making tests by allowing individuals to truly blaze their own path—they select a start and create their own path to success. Effectively measuring an individual’s executive planning through a more realistic task, the Trails-X assesses both executive planning skills and efficient decision-making in less than 10 minutes for individuals age 8 to 79 years.

The Trails-X 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.

Individually administered, the Trails-X offers nine trails that assess adaptive planning, coupled with psychomotor speed, cognitive flexibility, impulse control, flexible attention, and the ability to adapt to novel or changing situations. The examinee is asked to draw straight, nonoverlapping lines connecting circles of alternating colors and continue until all circles are connected. Individuals must work carefully to avoid crossing lines or being forced to discontinue before the task is complete. Examinees must plan their path and adapt while working as quickly as possible.

 

Learn more!

 

Specify Alternate Text

The Emotional Disturbance Decision Tree (EDDT) family of instruments gives you insight from three distinct viewpoints—teacher (EDDT), parent (EDDT-PF), and self (EDDT-SR). 

Though each form can be used individually, the full potential of the EDDT family is realized by garnering a trio of perspectives. See the advantages gained by in a case study presented in our new white paper by Jennifer A. Greene, PhD, and EDDT author Bryan L. Euler, PhD. You’ll also get information about the EDDT Multi-Rater Summary Form, a tool that can help you interpret statistically significant discrepancies between raters.

Learn more about the EDDT family.

Specify Alternate Text

PAR is proud to announce that our Executive Chairman and Founder, R. Bob Smith III, PhD, has been honored by the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP), a division of the American Psychological Association (APA). SCCAP has named a new award after Dr. Smith to recognize his efforts in supporting and producing evidence-based psychological assessment measures and procedures. In a further honor, the award will be presented annually at the APA national convention, beginning at this year’s convention, Aug. 8–11 in Chicago.

The Bob Smith III, PhD Psychological Assessment Award will be given each year to an individual, a group, or an organization that has advanced the field of scientific assessment in individual psychological functioning, mental health, learning, or social and intellectual development.

Another unique feature of this award is that recipients will have the opportunity to present a workshop at the APA national convention designed to instruct practitioners in the use of a cutting-edge psychological assessment product or procedure, or on a topic clinically relevant to psychological assessment.

To ensure the award will continue in perpetuity, SCCAP, industry colleagues, and friends of Dr. Smith have created and funded an endowment. If you would like to support the Bob Smith III, PhD Psychological Assessment Award and its contribution to society, please consider a tax-deductible donation. For more information on how to contribute, please contact PAR Customer Support or call 1.800.331.8378.

PAR is incredibly proud of Bob and his accomplishments and is grateful for this recognition of his body of work in the field.

Archives