July 18, 2018 [Washington, DC]:
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) is extremely pleased to announce that Frank Symons, PhD, FAAIDD, has been appointed by its Board of Directors as the next Editor of the American Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AJIDD), the Association’s scientific, scholarly, and archival multidisciplinary journal for reporting original research contributions of the highest quality on intellectual disability, its causes, treatment, and prevention.
Dr. Symons will succeed Deborah Fidler, PhD, of Colorado State University, as Editor of AJIDD. Dr. Fidler’s term as Editor concludes with the November 2018 issue of AJIDD. The first issue of AJIDD under Dr. Symons' four-year term of editorship will be January 2019.
AJIDD publishes original reports of empirical research on characteristics of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, individual differences in and correlates of such characteristics, and factors that alter those characteristics or correlates; systematic reviews and tightly conceived theoretical interpretations of relevant research literatures; and reports of evaluative research on new treatment procedures or programs.
Dr. Symons is Associate Dean for Research & Policy (College of Education & Human Development) and Professor (Department of Educational Psychology) at the University of Minnesota. His academic preparation includes doctorate in Education and Human Development from Vanderbilt University, a master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Alberta, and a bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Manitoba. He has held appointments at the Mayo Clinic, the University of Manitoba, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; received numerous awards for his scholarship; and has a long and successful history of federal research grant support.
In describing his vision for AJIDD, Dr. Symons notes that "while there may be long-standing continuity in a given line of scientific inquiry, science, by its nature, is also ever expanding. To maintain AJIDD as the relevant scientific outlet for work in IDD, there should be an honest and candid recognition that the journal ‘market space’ is more crowded than ever but, if we are smart, continue to adapt to changing dissemination technologies, and work hard to connect with the established as well as emerging research groups, labs, and centers driving scientific change in IDD research, there are abundant opportunities to engage and lead the field."
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Founded in 1876, AAIDD is the oldest professional association concerned with intellectual and developmental disabilities. AAIDD advocates for the equality, dignity, and human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and for their full inclusion and participation in society. Learn more about the organization at www.aaidd.org.
To read AJIDD online and learn about subscription information, visit http://www.aaiddjournals.org/.