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This week’s blog was contributed by Melissa Milanak, PhD. Melissa is a licensed clinical psychologist and internationally recognized academic. She has extensive clinical experience providing therapy and conducting assessments with a diverse array of patient populations. 

Learning more about assessment products can improve our ability to provide the best care for our clients, patients, and students. However, continuing education can also directly relate to other professional duties, such as keeping our license current and educating trainees. 

For example, when your job is to train future providers, having accurate, easily accessible resources not only saves time but also engages trainees in new and exciting ways. PAR’s Training Portal features product-specific videos, resources, and practical applications that can provide hours of didactic support for trainees. These tools are also ideal for established providers who want to learn more about a new product or get a refresher on an instrument they might not have used recently. PAR’s Training Portal is completely free of charge and available on demand, 24/7. New content is added regularly, so it’s good practice to check back frequently for information relevant to your practice. 

You can easily put products into practice using the 40% discount we offer on training materials that provide hands-on, practical experience. With PAR’s University Partnership Program (UPP), you can determine the tests that best fit your syllabus and get access to concierge support to design your own training (including PowerPoint slides, free test kits, and products), along with student discounts and faculty research discounts. 

In addition, as a licensed provider, you must receive continuing education (CE). Though requirements can seem arduous and tedious, it’s important for you to continually learn about the tools and practices that can best help your patients and clients—and it can often be an exciting way to learn about what’s innovative and new in the industry. Even gold-standard assessments are updated and renormed as the literature grows and new insights are uncovered. The key as a provider is to balance relying on the assessments we know and love and have served us well (and helped many of our patients and clients over the years) while also keeping current with updates and edits, new product offerings, and useful new applications of our reliable tools! 

PARtalks, our webinar platform, offers a vast array of CE sessions on products and applications. Featuring experts from a variety of backgrounds and topic areas, as well as insight from product authors and knowledgeable PAR staff, our webinars cover many topics relevant to psychological practice. Check out PARtalks frequently to see what webinars are coming up and which offer CE credits. And if you miss a live session, head back to the PAR Training Portal to view a recording. 

Whether you are working with trainees or looking to further your own education on a topic, PAR offers a number of options to help you! 

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This week’s blog was contributed by Darla DeCarlo, LMHC, PsyS, PAR’s regional manager–educational assessments. Darla is a certified school psychologist who spent more than 30 years providing professional services in a variety of settings.  

School personnel have been navigating chaotic times for almost two years, and psychological services departments have had to make some difficult decisions. Positions have been eliminated, staff has changed, and psychologists have had to juggle added tasks within their department (and/or schools) while grappling with existing duties. With all of this added responsibility comes added pressure. 

One common concern among school psychologists is finding time to train on assessment tools. Introducing an entire staff to new test options, training new staff and interns on existing instruments, 

and familiarizing staff on what’s available can be confusing and time-consuming. Incorporating the free PAR Training Portal as part of regular monthly staff meetings can provide solutions to these problems. In just 30 to 60 minutes, an entire staff can learn more about a PAR tool—from instrument overview and development to scoring and normative data. It’s a perfect way to provide needed training while preserving staff members’ valuable time to take care of district business. Staff who can’t attend can access the presentation online 24/7, ensuring staff members are on the same page when it comes to assessment training. The PAR Training Portal also includes recorded topical and author webinars, and the training courses and presentations are updated frequently. 

When psychological services departments are dedicated to improving staff knowledge to keep up with changes in school psychology, it can increase staff efficiency and build confidence. In addition, participating in trainings helps reinforce group goals, shows the staff they are valued, and improves morale. And who doesn’t want that for their staff? 

Visit partrainingportal.com to get started. 

 

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On June 3, we held the first live PARtalks event, a FREE day of virtual sessions featuring today’s most in-demand speakers on school psychology. The response to these timely topics was overwhelming!

We are pleased to offer access to the recorded sessions at no cost through the PAR Training Portal. Log in using your parinc.com username and password to view the recorded sessions and share with your friends and colleagues. Don’t have a free account? It’s easy to register. Sessions on the portal include:

Healing Together: Mental Health, Trauma, and Resilience in the Wake of a Global Pandemic

Presented by Kristin Greco, PAR CEO, and Kirby Wycoff, PsyD, NCSP

Following welcoming remarks from Kristin Greco, Dr. Wycoff discusses emergent research around the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and how resilience and connectedness can help communities heal.

The Neuropsychology of Stress and Trauma: How to Develop a Trauma-Informed Assessment 

Presented by Steven G. Feifer, DEd, and Terri Sisson, EdS

This presentation will explore the neural underpinnings of stress, trauma, and emotional dysfunction in children and its impact on learning.

Learning Disability Evaluations During and After a Pandemic

Presented by Peter K. Isquith, PhD, and Theo Miron, PsyS, NCSP

This presentation will address several challenges practitioners face when evaluating students after more than a year of disrupted instruction, further complicated by restrictions on typical assessment processes and settings.

Ethics in Psychological Tele-Assessment with Children

Presented by A. Jordan Wright, PhD, ABAP, and Carrie Champ Morera, PsyD, NCSP, LP

This presentation will discuss ethical considerations that practitioners need to keep in mind while conduct­ing teleassessment sessions. Topics include practitioner training and competence, and steps to ensure the client’s safety and appropriateness for telehealth.

More PARtalks! Browse our upcoming PARtalks virtual sessions and register soon—space is limited!

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Let the EDDT family of products help you find the way when navigating the challenging path of an emotional disturbance diagnosis. The EDDT family of products offer school/clinical professionals a standardized approach to gathering information from parents, teachers, and the student him or herself about the individuals functioning in the areas that make up the federal ED criteria. Now training on how to use the EDDT products is available on the PAR Training Portal.

 

Whether you are a long-time user and want a greater understanding of the products or are considering purchasing for the first time, this course will give you greater insight into the assessment of emotional disturbance, the decisions made when developing the EDDT, and how the different components work together to promote a comprehensive assessment of the student across school and home environments.

 

The PAR Training Portal is a free, on-demand resource available 24/7.

 

Visit partrainingportal.com today!

 

Simply use your parinc.com account to log in. Don’t have a free account? It’s easy to register.



 

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We’re proud to announce the latest addition to the PAR Training Portal!

Our newest course, Overview of the PAR Trauma Suite, provides FREE training for some of PAR’s most in-demand trauma instruments. Course content includes the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC), Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC), TSCC and TSCYC Screening Forms, the Trauma Symptom Inventory-2 (TSI-2), and the Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress (DAPS).

Whether you are a long-time user or are considering a purchase, this course provides greater insight into each of the products. You’ll also learn when each is most appropriate for use and see examples of how they can be used for intervention.

Remember, PAR’s Training Portal is always free and includes interactive courses, videos from test authors, and supplemental materials that serve as a resource to help you to learn more about select products. To learn more about the Training Portal or register for your free account, visit the PAR Training Portal web page.

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PAR offers several interactive ways to learn more about various PAR products. Whether you have a few minutes, a few hours, a quick question, or a more in-depth concern, we have something for you! Here are some of the resources we offer and how you can take advantage of them!

1.      Training Portal. The PAR Training Portal gives you a quick way to learn more about select PAR instruments. Whether you want to quickly get up to speed on a new measure, become more knowledgeable about a test you’ve used for years, or preview an instrument you are considering purchasing, the PAR Training Portal is a free, on-demand resource available 24/7.

2.      LinkedIn discussion groups. PAR offers two discussion groups on LinkedIn. One group is a general forum where Customers like you can interact with each other, PAR staff, and even authors! The other group focuses on the Self-Directed Search, allowing users to network and share ideas. Join today and get talking!

3.      University Partnership Program. PAR’s University Partnership Program (UPP) is a way to help you save time and money through a concierge service meant just for universities. The UPP is dedicated to assisting you and your students as they pursue advanced degrees.

4.      PAR workshops. Did you know that it’s easy to arrange a PAR-sponsored workshop in your area? We offer a host of training opportunities customized to meet your needs. PAR is even approved by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to provide continuing education credits. To learn more about our workshops and webinars, check out our workshop brochure.

We can’t wait to interact with you!

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PAR is truly concerned with making it easier for our Customers to learn our instruments. With that in mind, PAR has created an online, on-demand tool that allows for training on a product you may consider purchasing or may already have. 

PAR’s free Training Portal provides interactive courses, videos, and supplemental materials that serve as a resource to learn more about select products. A growing selection of training sessions are offered, containing information such as product overview, explanation of how to administer and score, sample items, and so on.

Courses are available on the Academic Achievement Battery™ (AAB™); the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®, Second Edition (BRIEF®2); the Personality Assessment Inventory™ (PAI®); the Child and Adolescent Memory Profile™ (ChAMP™); the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™), and more!

As part of our mission, PAR aims to provide the best support to our Customers. It is our goal to contribute not only with the best assessment tools, but with the best training on these tools as well. To learn more about the Training Portal or register for your free account, visit the PAR Training Portal web page.

DBR Connect is a Web-based behavioral progress monitoring tool that tracks three core behaviors: Academically Engaged, Disruptive, and Respectful. It can be used to screen at-risk students and monitor their behavior before, during, and after an intervention has been implemented.

Now we’ve added a recorded Webinar on DBR Connect to our on-demand course offerings on the PAR Training Portal. Log on to view DBR Connect: Using Technology to Facilitate Behavior Screening and Progress Monitoring presented by Sandra M. Chafouleas, PhD, University of Connecticut, coauthor of DBR Connect.

During this three-part recorded Webinar, you will:

  • Increase knowledge about the evidence supporting the use of direct behavior ratings in school-based assessment practices involving screening and progress monitoring.

  • Learn the benefits of electronic data systems that facilitate decisions about behavior supports.

  • Focus on how to use DBR Connect to collect, store, interpret, and communicate information with regard to an individual or group of students.

  • Gain insight on how to use DBR Connect in multi-tiered assessment frameworks, including use in combination with other assessment practices.


Training courses, recorded Webinars, and supplemental materials are available 24/7 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™), the Feifer Assessment of Reading™ (FAR™), and many more! There’s so much more to learn on the Training Portal!

To access the Training Portal, use your parinc.com username and password to log in. Don’t have a free account? Register now.
The PAR Training Portal is designed with your valuable time in mind, giving you a quick way to become acquainted with select PAR assessments. Whether you become more knowledgeable about a test you know and use or you preview an instrument you are considering purchasing, the PAR Training Portal is a free, on-demand resource available 24/7.

Here are five things you should know about the PAR Training Portal:

  1. You can watch the whole course or skip to the parts you are most interested in! Each interactive course offers a course topics menu on the left-hand side of the screen that allows you to navigate to any page within the course. You don't need to watch every screen and can select the parts that are most important for your needs. Arrows allow you to move to the next page or previous page in the course.

  2. There are many types of offerings! In addition to interactive courses, there are also recorded Webinars, supplemental materials, author videos, and notifications of upcoming live events and sessions!

  3. We are always adding new material! If you haven’t visited in a while, there is so much to see! In fact, a recorded Webinar on the PDD Behavior Inventory was just added recently! Check it out!

  4. All courses are free… and you can watch them as many times as you want! Sometimes you just need a refresher on the finer points of an assessment. Stop by the portal for a quick reminder of what you need to know.

  5. The PAR Training Portal is a great way to train an individual or a whole staff! Many schools have used the portal to train all the individuals in their group. It’s an efficient and cost-effective solution for training.


Visit www.parinc.com/training today for FREE training!
Whether you’re a long-time user of the BRIEF family of products or you are considering your first purchase of the Behavior Inventory of Executive Function®, 2nd Ed., now you can take view a free training course to learn more about this assessment!

The BRIEF2 makes the assessment of executive function impairments easier than ever. The most widely used gold-standard rating scale for assessing executive function, the original BRIEF has been cited in more than 800 peer-reviewed studies. The new BRIEF2 provides even more useful information for practitioners. The BRIEF2 assesses executive function behaviors in the school and home environments through questionnaires developed for parents, teachers, and children and adolescents. Designed to assess the abilities of a broad range of individuals, the BRIEF2 is useful when working with children who have learning disabilities and attention disorders; traumatic brain injuries; lead exposure; pervasive developmental disorders; depression; and other developmental, neurological, psychiatric, and medical conditions.

This free, interactive course will give you a quick overview of the product, explain what makes it unique, discuss the updates made in this edition, and provide insight into how it was developed. And, best of all, the Training Portal is always available, so you can learn more on your schedule.

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™), the Feifer Assessment of Reading™ (FAR™), and many more!

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