Aging with a disability: Views from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

As I move toward the completion of my term as Director of the National Inst itute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), I see many example s of renewal in our field. For example, disability studies and rehabilitati on science are emerging new areas of academic specialization, and we will a ll be involved in shaping the future of these endeavors. The field is recap turing its identity and relevance locally and internationally. Also, I see a considerable number of challenges that range from acute care in medical r ehabilitation to universal design in engineering to overall technology poli cy. I see a challenge in moving research to practice, a challenge in fundin g, a challenge in service delivery locations, and a challenge in defining t he role of the professional in order to build capacity for the future. I be lieve that the research field ignores practice at its own peril, including practice in older fields such as vocational rehabilitation and in newer fie lds such as cognitive science and access engineering. Practice must be dete rmined by today's needs and those we foresee for tomorrow. For the NIDRR fa mily, the Long-Range Plan provides a beacon to direct us into the new mille nnium.