Editor's Corner: Resignation

One of the unique and interesting things that happens when putting together an issue of the International Journal of Orofacial Myology (IJOM) is that often times connections between articles emerge. In this issue the area of evaluation becomes apparent with Almiro Machado’s article on evaluation using surface electromyography, and Nancy Solomon’s report on adapting the use of the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) in evaluation. In addition, Robyn Merkel-Walsh’s article on describing the therapy of special needs children, and Robert Mason’s article on the importance of assessing freeway space in therapy also demonstrate a connection. And again, Hope Reed’s article on clinical simulation and Patty Fisher’s article on online service delivery emphasize the role that internet connectivity has to offer. These articles when taken together begin to give us a more complete sense of the expanding role of the orofacial myologist. Because of this expanding role, we all need to not rest until we have made our unique contribution to the International Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM). What is your part in the big picture? How can you reach out to longtime members and possible new members? Involvement is the key to our future. That being said, I feel some disappointment in my decision to resign as the Editor-in-Chief of IJOM.

This was a decision that was not made lightly. Editing has been a personal passion for me for years. I started being asked to look over the work of other people when I was in 8^th grade. In 9^th through 11^th grade I was the Associate Sports Editor for our high school newspaper. When the then editor graduated I was hopeful to become the Sports Editor. But alas, I was told by the school administration that “it just wasn’t right for the Sports Editor to be a girl!” (Remember this was the early ‘60s.)

But that only increased my passion for editing. In 1976, I prepared and edited an insert to the local newspapers Preschoolers Their Development and Education which received a Pennsylvania School Boards’ Award of Excellence in the Special Purpose Category 7^th Annual Education Communications Contest. This tabloid was part of a Preschool Public Awareness Campaign in 1976, and was distributed in local newspapers across a five county area. That same year I also edited: Preschoolers Their Development and Education: Curriculum Guide. This was used by preschool teachers to plan their instructional programs. I have wanted to develop a similar curricular guide for orofacial myology. Perhaps now I’ll have time to work on that project. In 1978, I was the Editor for the Shikellamy Council for Exceptional Children Newsletter. Also in 1978, I worked with a committee of preschool administrators and together we developed and edited a manual titled Nutrition Education for Preschoolers, which by 1980 had been cited in three journals, used by several colleges in early education courses, requested by and distributed to 37 states and six foreign countries. That lit the fire within me to disseminate information beyond my own place in the world. As most of you know, I have been the Editor-in-Chief for 22 years and have been responsible to produce 21 annual issues of IJOM.

After all these years, I felt it was time for someone else to take over. Someone with new ideas, and the ambition to follow through on them. And that person is Nancy Pearl Solomon, PhD. Nancy is a Research Speech-Language Pathologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Professor in the Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD. She is Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland and Gallaudet University where she teaches courses on motor speech disorders and voice disorders and mentors student research projects. She has published more articles in peer-reviewed journals than I can count, and is an Editor and previously Associate Editor of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology in addition to serving as a peer reviewer for scores of scholarly journals. Nancy has been a member of the IJOM Editorial Review Board since 2005, has published multiple articles in the IJOM, and has presented at several IAOM Conventions. Nancy was presented with the IAOM Richard H. Barrett Award for Research in 2011 and was honored as a Fellow of the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association in 2012.

Nancy has already brought new ideas to the journal, including establishing a relationship with Digital Commons for digital submissions, management, and open-access publishing of articles. In addition, you will note a change in the journal’s title. Adding “myofunctional therapy” to the title emphasizes the IAOM’s clinical mission and will improve discoverability of the journal on multiple search engines. Nancy is excited about setting up this online platform and increasing the visibility of the IJOM.

And again I ask the questions “What can you do for IAOM?” “What is your part in the big picture?” “What research are you able to conduct in your clinical setting?” And, remember the IAOM’s Institutional Review Board, whose chair is Hope Reed PhD, is here to help you develop your research ideas with a team of experts who can provide assistance. With that I will offer my good-bye and extend a huge THANK YOU for allowing me to act as the Editor-in Chief of IJOM for 22 years. Let’s stay in touch.

Patricia A. Taylor, MEd, CCC-SLP, Com^®

Editor-in-Chief, IJOM

Research Director, IAOM