Changing The Variable Names, Programmatically

I need to know how to change the Access variable names programmatically.

I have a large Access database, with hundreds of variables that need to be shortened to 8 characters since they are to be imported into a SIR database, which does not allow variable names longer than 8 characters.

Because the variables have to be unique and yet still identifiable, I have to write code that will do abreviations. For instance:

Neglect Aphasia Conversion Baseline
Neglect Aphasia Conversion Drug
Neglect Aphasia Conversion Fluency
Neglect Aphasia Conversion Composite

will become:

N A CV BA
N A CV DR
N A CV FL
N A CV COM

Would something like this be done in a macro?

And once the variable names are abreviated, how would they be put back in the database table?