AUCD Aging SIG Bimonthly Webinar - December

Leann Smith DaWalt

Waisman Center’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

Director

Leann Smith DaWalt, PhD, is a senior scientist at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also the director for the Waisman Center’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Her research focuses on the role of the family and community in supporting development for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the lifespan. Dr. DaWalt has investigated life course trajectories for autistic individuals and has examined the impact of psychoeducation interventions during adolescence and adulthood.

Dr. DaWalt's presentation will focus on a longitudinal examination of functional outcomes and health among autistic adults. Patterns of change into mid- and later-life will be discussed, with an exploration of differences between those with and without co-occurring intellectual disability.

Yumi Shirai

Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities

Associate Professor

Yumi Shirai, PhD, is a social and behavioral scientist and an associate professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine (FCM) at the University of Arizona. She also serves as affiliate faculty with the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities and the Applied Intercultural Arts Research program. As co-director of the FCM Residency Scholarly Project Program, she mentors family medicine residents in developing and conducting research and leads the department’s Medical Humanities curriculum. Dr. Shirai’s work centers on community-based and community-initiated programs that use creativity to support adults with disabilities and their supporters. Her scholarship and practice emphasize co-creating knowledge and approaches in partnership with individuals with disabilities, families, and interdisciplinary professionals.

Dr. Shirai's session introduces Creative Café, a person-centered, arts-based story-gathering model recognized as a 2024 runner-up for the John A. Hartford Foundation Business Innovation Award. The presentation highlights the model’s purpose, core components, and pilot study findings demonstrating its feasibility and effectiveness in gathering stories through an inclusive, responsive process that accommodates diverse literacy and communication needs. The session also showcases implementation examples that advance health equity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across different settings.