About

We work at the intersection of disability advocacy, policy, and memory science. The road to access is rooted in a firm understanding of strengths and any limitations faced by individuals, and science can be a tool for policy change and inclusion. We believe stakeholder-engaged research must be employed to seek targets for change and impactful solutions.

Disability advocacy is an opportunity to ensure that human rights, equity, self-determination, and access are available for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). Dr. Edgin has a long history of advocating for the needs of individuals with IDD, in health systems during the pandemic, in school systems, and through education of senators and representatives in DC and local government. 

Work with a policy lens allows for the opportunity to engage in conversations and action to facilitate change in our society. As a Udall Center Policy fellow and previous Director of a UCEDD policy fellowship, Dr. Edgin and her lab strive for policy engagement. 

With over 20 years of experience designing and implementing strategies to conduct cognitive assessments in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (the Arizona Cognitive Test Battery, and the A-MAP battery), the MaP Lab now engages in studies aimed to provide equal access to existing educational, legal, medical, and preventive programs for areas in which these individuals have increased risk and co-morbidity. In the first phase of Edgin’s career, she spread the word that sleep impairments were understudied and often untreated in developmental disability. Her work allowed clinical studies to include individuals with Down syndrome, as she designed tests that would allow for more complete participation from these groups. Dr. Edgin has seen that field evolve from exploratory and descriptive studies (Breslin et al., 2013) to currently active clinical trials. Now, the MaP Lab aims to tackle another pressing issue—the high rates of abuse experienced by individuals with developmental disabilities and how to best include these groups in forensic settings.