ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
By Ann Smith, MSN, RN, CDDN, Editor
Special thanks goes out to the Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association (DDNA) for their support in having the International Journal of Nursing in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IJNIDD) become part of DDNA. As the journal transitioned from its former website, http://journal.hsmc.org/ijnidd to http://journal.ddna.org, I had a chance to reflect back on how a dream finally became a reality that will continue through the years to come.
It would never have been possible to produce IJNIDD without the support of countless individuals. Working for many years with children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families has inspired me to find a way to educate all nurses who work in diverse clinical settings where they come in contact with people with I/DD and their families world-wide.
The Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) faculty at the Shriver Center in Waltham, Massachusetts helped to spark my interest in undertaking such a daunting project, which was supported from the very beginning by DDNA, when the idea of an on-line journal was first introduced several years ago. The collaborative effort of volunteer editorial board members in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities from around the world led to the development of the free interdisciplinary electronic international journal of nursing in intellectual and developmental disabilities.
I will always be indebted to Robert F. Littleton, Jr. Ed.D for his confidence in this challenging pursuit and the commitment of the Evergreen Center and Professional Education Resources and Conference Services (PERCS). Without Dr. Littleton’s support and financial backing the development of the journal would not have been possible.
A special thank you is extended to all the sponsors and several DDNA networks for their help in defraying some of the costs that have been involved in maintaining a free electronic journal that is accessible to all regardless of their geographic location.
The College of Direct Support (www.collegeofdirectsupport.com) has generously sponsored this edition and the next publication of IJNIDD, for which we are very thankful.
My heartfelt gratitude is extended to the authors and book reviewers who contributed to this edition, Volume 4, Issue 1, of the International Journal of Nursing in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Their patience in waiting to see their work published during the transition of the journal to the Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association is greatly appreciated.
We are very thankful to the nurses for the precious time they spent in doing blind peer reviews of the manuscripts and to the journal’s copy editor for her work in ensuring a high quality publication.
A final and very appreciative thank you is extended to the DDNA executive management team for the many hours that were spent in preparing the new journal website and to the DDNA board for adding a "new leaf" to DDNA.