A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but sometimes a Webinar is better. Join us on Wednesday, February 26th at 12 PM EST for Introduction to the Vocabulary Assessment Scales, a one-hour Webinar presented by Senior Clinical Assessment Consultant Julie Alexander, PhD, NCSP. Delve into the details about this innovative new measure and learn how the Vocabulary Assessment Scales−Expressive (VAS−E) and Vocabulary Assessment Scales−Receptive (VAS−R) can help you measure vocabulary throughout the lifespan using full-color photographs. Realistic photographs are easily discernible and more ecologically valid than line drawings—giving your students and clients every opportunity to show you what they know.

Register now for this insightful Webinar. Space is limited!

Unable to attend the Webinar, but interested in learning more about the VAS−E and VAS−R? Watch an interview with author Rebecca Gerhardstein Nader, PhD.

Get ready, Washington, DC! PAR staff have arrived in our nation’s capital for the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Annual Convention. If you are attending NASP, be sure to stop by the PAR booth to learn about some of our new products, including the Working Styles Assessment™ (WSA™) and the Self-Directed Search®, 5^th Edition.

Cecil R. Reynolds, PhD, author of the Reynolds Adaptable Intelligence Test™ (RAIT™) and the Test of General Reasoning Ability™ (TOGRA™) will be presenting tomorrow, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. His session, titled “Two New Adaptable Reliable Intelligence Measures for Busy Practitioners,” will cover the development, application, and research involved in creating these two new assessments.

If you will be attending the International Neuropsychological Society’s 42^nd Annual Meeting in Seattle this week, make sure to stop by the PAR booth. We will be exhibiting in the Metropolitan Ballroom on the third floor of the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. Meet PAR staff, place your orders, and learn about our new products. Remember, you’ll receive 15% off all orders placed during the conference plus free domestic shipping and handling. We look forward to seeing you!

A recent study of 648 older adults in India suggests that those who were bilingual developed dementia more than four years later, on average, than those who spoke only one language—regardless of educational level.

Published recently in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the study found that speaking two languages seems to have a protective effect against three types of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia.

“Speaking more than one language is thought to lead to better development of the areas of the brain that handle executive functions and attention tasks, which may help protect from the onset of dementia,” said study author Suvarna Alladi, DM, with Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India, in a press release from the AAN.

The study subjects, all of whom were diagnosed with dementia, had an average age of 66. Approximately half spoke two or more languages; 14 percent were illiterate.

“These results offer strong evidence for the protective effect of bilingualism against dementia in a population very different from those studied so far in terms of its ethnicity, culture and patterns of language use,” Alladi said.

To learn more or to read the full article online, visit the Neurology Web site.