RI grew from its small town roots in the American Midwest in 1922 to an internationally prominent organization in just a few years. RI maintained its contacts around the world during World War II, thanks to the efforts of Bell Greve, LLD, and Dr Henry Kessler, who were determined to keep it alive. Unlike most international organizations with a large core staff at the headquarters level, the RI Secretariat in New York has never been large. Instead, the majority of the work has been carried out by RI’s member organizations.
Along the way, there have been four major name changes: The International Society for Crippled Children, 1922; The International Society for the Welfare of Cripples, 1939; The International Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, 1960; and Rehabilitation International, 1972. These name changes reflected changing social awareness towards disability. At present, the organization prefers to go by the abbreviation of its 1972 name, and RI now stands for Rights and Inclusion as well.