Related Posts

• Understanding executive functions for parents and teachers

  

  This week’s blog was contributed by Terri Sisson, EdS, educational assessment advisor, national accounts. Terri spent more than 20 years in public schools as a licensed school psychologist. She is a past president of the Virginia Association of School Psychologists.    Many students with executive function deficiencies find their performance in both the home and classroom environments is negatively impacted. When I practiced in the schools, I wrote my recommendations with parents and teachers in mind, as these were the people who would read and use my recommendations. I found that if the intended audience understood executive functions and how they impact learning, they were more likely to be effective at implementing successful strategies.  Lauren Kenworthy, PhD, coauthor of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, 2nd Ed. (BRIEF2) and the Unstuck and on Target! curriculum, and her colleagues have created a free video series designed for parents and teachers that explains different executive function concepts and provides recommendations for intervention. Some videos are designed specifically for teachers and offer free training (with continuing education credits). For parents, informative videos and tip ...

• For Better Mental Health—Sleep on it!

  

  This article is part of PAR’s Mental Health Awareness Month series, in which we will be focusing on the multifaceted issue of mental health in the U.S.  “Waking up on the wrong side of the bed” is more than just a saying—we all have experienced the impact of a poor night’s sleep on our daily activities. Quality sleep is an essential component to good mental health, and there is a significant body of research showing the impact of sleep on anxiety, depression, suicide risk, PTSD, addiction, and much more.  In support of Mental Health Awareness Month, we sat down with Melissa Milanak, PhD, Clinical Assessment Advisor at PAR and sleep expert, to get some tips on how to get a more restful night’s sleep and debunk some of the common misperceptions of sleep.  Dr. Milanak, what do you think people need to know about the importance of sleep?  People have come to believe the myth that the body can get used to less sleep. We have such busy days that we cheat our sleep to try to fit more in but fail to ...

• Feed your head: Reading a good book improves brain function

  Most of us can remember reading a book that changed our lives. Whether it was a comforting childhood favorite, a college assignment that surprised or shocked us, or a novel that resonated at a particular stage in our adult lives, books clearly have the power to change our thinking and expand our points of view. Taking it a step further, recent research from Emory University suggests that the act of reading a novel produces measurable changes in the brain itself, specifically, improvements in resting-state connectivity that can persist for days after reading. “We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically,” said neuroscientist and lead author Gregory Berns in a recent interview with Emory University’s eScience Commons online newsletter. The study was published last month in the journal Brain Connectivity. Emory students—twelve women and nine men—participated in the experiment, which was conducted over a 19-day period. The students read Pompeii, a novel by Robert Harris based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ancient ...

• PARtnering with PAR for your research needs

  

  This week’s blog was contributed by Melissa Milanak, PhD, PAR’s clinical assessment. 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. As your trusted source for assessments for all your clinical needs, PAR is excited to also partner with you in many practical ways as you conduct your research, whether it be a large federally funded grant, a manuscript you are preparing to submit, or a course project with your students and trainees running on zero budget. Here are just a few of the ways PAR can help researchers. Save time with manuscript writing The submission deadline is approaching, and it is time to write the methods section. Instead of spending hours pouring through assessment manuals and reading journal article after journal article to extract psychometric data for the one paragraph, consider reaching out to PAR directly. Our psychologists and researchers have already prepared and formatted the assessment info paragraphs for you that you can insert into your manuscripts and grant applications. Don’t see ...

• Can You Meditate Your Way to Better Mental Health?

  Those who practice meditation tout the benefits of this practice, but is there any truth to the idea that meditation can influence one’s psychological health? In a study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness, 16 healthy individuals were given MRIs two weeks before beginning a mindfulness-based stress reduction course. During this course, individuals took part in weekly classes, listened to guided meditation audio recordings, and logged the amount of time they meditation on their own each day, with the average being about 27 minutes. The same participants were given a second MRI two weeks after completing the course. The brain scans showed some interesting findings. The hippocampus, important in learning and memory, showed an increase in brain cell mass. Other areas that showed an increase in brain cell mass were structures linked to self-awareness, introspection, and compassion. Some areas – such as the amygdala, which controls anxiety and stress –  showed a decrease in mass, an interesting finding since most participants rated themselves as less stressed after taking part in the program. The study shows that the ...

• Digital Versions of Your Favorite Manuals are Now Available from PAR

  PAR is the first in the test publishing industry to bring your favorite products to you in digital versions! Now there is no need to carry hard copies of professional manuals with you; bring convenience and flexibility to your practice with digital versions of 11 of our most popular manuals. Simply download select manuals to your computer or laptop, where you will be able to access information with the click of your mouse! The following products are now available in digital editions: Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function® (BRIEF®) Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®–Preschool Version (BRIEF®-P) Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®–Adult Version (BRIEF®-A) Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®–Self-Report Version (BRIEF®-SR) The NEO™ Inventories: NEO Personality Inventory-3™ (NEO-PI-3™) Personality Assessment Inventory™ (PAI®) Personality Assessment Inventory™–Adolescent (PAI®-A) Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales™ (RIAS™) Trauma Symptom Inventory™-2 (TSI™-2) Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, Second Edition (WRAML™2) Wide Range Achievement Test 4 (WRAT4)