Fofi Constantinidou

A very warm welcome to the inaugural issue of the International Networking Group’s (ING) newsletter. ING is ACRM’s global initiative. Our mission is to foster international collaboration on issues relating to rehabilitation research, service delivery and advocacy. Our Newletter’s Logo: Rehab Pulse – Around the World, symbolizes our mission and efforts for continuous international networking and global outreach. Our group finds its roots in the International Committee, established 11 years ago, in 2005. The group consisted of energetic ACRM members who put a lot of effort in developing the international agenda of the organization and in recruiting international participants to attend the conference and also contribute to the program via presentations. IN 2012 the ACRM BOG approved the proposal to upgrade our committee and create the ING. The 16 person original committee grew to become the home for more than 300 ING members. The interdisciplinary nature of this group resonates to ACRM members across several other ACRM communities.

Our goal is to continue to serve as a bridge across many ACRM communities and also as a catalyst for partnering with other like-minded organizations. ING members serve on the Board of Governors of ACRM and have leadership positions in many other ACRM communities, including the BI-ISIG, SC-ISIG, the Stroke ISIG and the Early Career NG. We collaborate with these groups in order to enrich the ACRM annual conference program and include symposia and presentations that highlight international perspectives, initiatives, and challenges pertaining to an array of issues in rehabilitation research and service delivery models around the world. We have been successful in providing non-stop content at the annual conference with more than 65 countries represented in the ACRM membership.

This first Newsletter introduces the reader to the ING task forces and also highlights some of the important activities conducted by our members. We hope it will stimulate your interest and motivate more members to be active. Much appreciation goes to the ING Executive Committee and task force members whose dynamic presence and commitment help make ACRM a global organization. Congratulations to our Newsletter Editors, Eva Pettemeridou and Rozlie Townsend who, although new to ING and ACRM, took on this important project with enthusiasm and worked diligently to bring it to fruition.

Happy reading!

With warm regards,

Fofi Constantinidou, PhD, CCC-S, CBIS
ASHA & ACRM Fellow
Chair, ACRM International Networking Group
Professor of Language Disorders and Clinical Neuropsychology
Director Center for Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus