Looking at things from another perspective often makes them clearer. In psychological testing, for instance, rating scales are often used to glean information about a single client from observers who are close to that client, such as parents and teachers. Used in conjunction with a client’s self-report data, observer reports can give clinicians a well-rounded picture of a client’s functioning. This not only helps them narrow down and identify a client’s diagnosis, but it also helps them develop appropriate and effective treatment options.
PAR’s newest assessment instrument, the Personality Assessment Screener–Observer (PAS-O), is an observer report designed to complement the self-report Personality Assessment Screener (PAS). Derived from the gold-standard Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)—one of the most important innovations in the field of personality assessment—the PAS screens for a wide range of contemporary clinical problems in just 5 minutes.
Using the same 22 items on the PAS, which were selected because they are the most sensitive to a broad range of clinical problems, the PAS-O provides clinicians with information about a client from the perspective of someone close to that client, such as a spouse, parent, or close friend. It can be used to support PAS scores, validate problem areas, and indicate the need for follow-up testing. The PAS-O is the only informant personality assessment normed on score discrepancies, and it was normed on both community and clinical samples composed of dyad pairs. It takes just 5 minutes to administer and features 10 elements representing 10 distinct domains of clinical problems.
Discrepancy scores for the PAS-O can also be calculated using scores from the full PAI rather than the PAS. If self-report ratings from a client are not available due to confusion, thought disorder, or other limitations, the PAS-O can be used in isolation and provides a metric indicating the likelihood that the client would have an elevated PAI score.
Learn more about the PAS-O or purchase your PAS-O Introductory Kit or PAS/PAS-O Combination Kit today!
Exploring career options can be an enlightening experience—it’s an exercise in learning more about yourself and about the opportunities that best fit your personality. The Self-Directed Search (SDS) is a career assessment created by Dr. John Holland that has been used more than 36 million times.
The SDS is based on Holland’s theory, known as RIASEC theory, that both people and working environments can be classified according to six basic types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. One of the main ideas of this theory is that the closer your personality type aligns with your work environment type, the more likely you are to find fulfillment at work.
After completing the 20-minute online assessment, you’ll receive one of three reports based on your demographics and job history: The StandardSDS, the StudentSDS, or the VeteranSDS. Your interactive report includes lists of occupations and programs of study associated with your Summary Code that can be customized–you can save, sort, and filter results; learn more about salary data; link to related career clusters; and even search for jobs in your area! Our site is now mobile friendly to make your search even easier, and SDS group accounts and partnerships are perfect for schools or organizations.
So if you are looking for a job, want a career change, or are searching for a program of study, knowing more about what types of potential careers fit your personality will greatly improve your search. Get started today!
The PAR Training Portal give 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.
There’s more than just interactive courses! We’ve added author videos, supplemental materials, and more!
It’s built with your time in mind! Start and stop, back up, or watch just the parts that interest you. The training portal is flexible—watch as many times as you want!
We are always adding new material! If you haven’t stopped by in a while, there’s probably something new to see.
Train an individual or a whole staff! Many schools and large organizations have used the portal to train all the individuals in their group. It’s an efficient and cost-effective solution for training.
Visit parinc.com/training today!
PARiConnect leads the online assessment industry. No waiting for pages to load, no-hassle service and support—all in one intuitive and easy-to-use platform. PARiConnect’s unmatched availability and quality will work as hard as you do.
Did you know PARiConnect was available 99.99% of the time in 2017?
The new Test of Auditory Processing Skills–Fourth Edition (TAPS-4) provides you with increased flexibility in administration. Unlike the TAPS-3, where subtests reflected a developmental progression of tasks ranging from easiest to most difficult that had to be administered in a specific order, the TAPS-4 has restructured 11 subtests into three indexes: phonological processing, auditory memory, and listening comprehension. This allows for a new level of flexibility when administering subtests.
For a limited time, the TAPS-4 Complete Kit is available for $175! Learn more!
With spring sports season just around the corner, PAR has two apps that can help your athlete have a safe and successful season! The Concussion Assessment & Response™: Sport Version (CARE) is ideal for athletic trainers, team physicians, and other qualified health professionals. The Concussion Recognition & Response™ (CRR) app is geared toward coaches and parents.
Both products have numerous advantages that make assessment easy to perform, ultimately aiding in positive concussion outcomes. Accessed through a mobile application and administered in less than 5 minutes, these concussion assessments help recognize signs and symptoms of a concussion so that you can respond quickly and appropriately reducing the likelihood of serious injury. Whether performed by coach and parent (CRR) or athletic trainer (CARE), results can be saved in the apps and sent to a health care provider for further evaluation.
Even after a diagnosis of a concussion, these applications aid in the successful rehabilitation of the athlete. Both applications provide guidance in monitoring the postconcussion symptoms during recovery as well as information for care after successful rehabilitation. In addition, a return-to-play guide helps to protect the athlete from further injury by guiding them through a daily exercise routine. The CARE assessment also comes with a balance error scoring system and sideline assessment that evaluates memory, recall, and concentration.
The CARE is available in the App Store and through Google Play for $4.99.
The CRR is available in the App Store and through Google Play for free!
Join us for a live webinar on Friday, April 13 from noon to 1 p.m. ET to discover the features and benefits of our online assessment tool.
The information presented is useful whether you’ve recently signed up for PARiConnect or if you’re just curious and want to learn more.
Whether you’re in private practice or part of a large organization, this interactive session will help you learn how to use PARiConnect to simplify your assessment process.
During this webinar, you will:
See a real-time demonstration of PARiConnect, including viewing the online assessment process from start to finish.
Learn about the flexibility of the system, in particular the different administration options available (e.g., e-mail, onscreen, and manual data entry).
Find out how to manage large numbers of accounts, clinicians, and clients.
Observe how to import and export data in large batches.
Get information on capturing the current status of inventory and reallocating uses.
Space is limited; register today!
Last week, we welcomed Suzanne McCormick from United Way Suncoast to our office. She came to award PAR as #22 on the list of Most Generous Workplaces. We are so thrilled to be in the company of the other organizations represented on this list, all of which foster a culture of caring and philanthropy among their employees. Further, we are so proud of our employees for their generous support of United Way.
Learn more about how you can get involved with United Way where you live.
The new Test of Auditory Processing Skills—Fourth Edition (TAPS-4) provides clinicians a reliable way of measuring auditory processing skills. Phonological processing, auditory memory, and listening comprehension are the three major areas analyzed by this assessment.
A wide variety of subtests provide information on the language processing and comprehension skills of the client. Subtests include Word (Pair) Discrimination, Phonological Deletion, Phonological Blending, Syllabic Blending, Number Memory Forward, Word Memory, Sentence Memory, Number Memory Reversed, Processing Oral Directions, Auditory Comprehension, and Auditory Figure-Ground. The included audio CD features audio administration for the subtests for which proper pronunciation of speech sounds is critical, resulting in more consistent administration and more reliable results.
This edition also offers fully updated normative data as well as an expanded age range to accommodate a wider range of clients.
The TAPS-4 is now available. Visit the product page for more information!
Whether you’re a long-time user of the Academic Achievement Battery™ (AAB™) family of products or you are considering your first purchase from this product family, now you can enroll in a free training course to learn more about this assessment!
The new AAB is ideal for measuring basic reading, math, spelling, and reading comprehension skills quickly and reliably. The new AAB can be used in educational, research, or clinical settings to confidently evaluate achievement in just 15 to 30 minutes to get an accurate overview of an individual’s educational skills. The AAB is ideal for evaluating fundamental academic skills during an initial evaluation, during reevaluation, or when working with those referred for learning, behavior, or vocational concerns across the life span.
A Comprehensive Form, which offers a complete evaluation of academic skills, and a Screening Form, which offers a fundamental evaluation of reading, math, spelling, and writing skills, are also available and have courses available on the Training Portal.
Each 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. 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.