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ATRA SoCal : 2026 Session Description
October 17–19, 2026
The Embassy Suites, Brea, California
2026 ATRA Annual Conference – Session Descriptions
October 17–19, 2026 | Brea, CA
The following is the Session Descriptions for the 2026 ATRA Annual Conference in Brea, CA. All sessions, times, and presenter information have been confirmed, though final adjustments may occur due to unforeseen circumstances onsite.
For a visual Calendar view, please visit: Schedule at a Glance
For information on our On Demand Conference offerings, please visit: ATRA SoCal On Demand
Continuing Education (CEUs):
NCTRC pre-approval is pending fr all sessions for CEUs.
Once the program is pre-approved; For questions related to specialty certification areas, please refer to the PDF version of the program for designation icons and CEU-eligible sessions.
Code of Conduct:
All attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and guests are expected to uphold the ATRA Conference Code of Conduct.
To review the Code, view it here.
Note on Non-ATRA Activities:
Please note that any events or activities not listed in the official ATRA SoCal program are independently organized and not affiliated or sponsored by ATRA. ATRA is not responsible for independently coordinated events, meetups or activities not articulated in this program. Individuals interested in non-ATRA sponsored activities should contact their respective organizations directly for details.
Using Virtual Reality Gaze Fingerprints to Understand Stress Responses and Self-Regulation in College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Session Description
This session presents a study examining how virtual reality (VR), eye-tracking, and physiological monitoring can be used to better understand stress responses and self-regulation in college students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the transition to campus life. Guided by the neurodiversity paradigm, the presentation highlights how autistic students responded to socially and sensorily demanding campus spaces simulated in VR and how individualized “gaze fingerprints,” paired with heart rate variability (HRV), helped identify moments of anxiety, threat monitoring, and self-regulatory coping. The session will emphasize VR as an assessment-rich treatment modality in recreational therapy, demonstrating how Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists (CTRSs) can use immersive environments and digital biomarkers to better understand client responses, support emotional regulation, and develop more personalized treatment planning aimed at improving participation in real-world settings.
Learning Outcomes
Identify how virtual reality, eye-tracking, and heart rate variability can be used within recreational therapy to assess stress responses and self-regulation in college students with autism spectrum disorder. Describe how individualized gaze patterns, or “gaze fingerprints,” can help Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists recognize environmental stressors, coping strategies, and moments of dysregulation during simulated campus navigation. Identify how findings from VR-based assessment can inform recreational therapy treatment planning by proposing at least two ways to support emotional regulation, participation, and environmental readiness in autistic college students.
Practice Area: Select ALL that Apply
Higher Education
Research
Target Audience
New Graduates/New Professionals
Educators/Researchers
Mid-Career Professionals
Seasoned Professionals
Primary Presenter
![[photo]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocJir7gCzw8Hz99H4-db684xJaLeynshu4-qvSPqBewEX9UMfNys=s50 "Čedomir Stanojević, Indiana University")
Čedomir Stanojević, Indiana University
Biographical Information
Dr. Cedomir Stanojevic is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist and an assistant professor at Indiana University’s School of Public Health, Department of Health and Wellness Design. His research training and expertise have been shaped by ten years of clinical experience working with individuals with disabilities and are grounded within a person-centered and strengths-based philosophies. Dr. Stanojevic’s ongoing research centers on interventions aimed at elevating the quality of life for individuals with disabilities, specifically exploring the impact of emerging technologies on health outcomes for this population. His interdisciplinary approach to research relies on collaboration with a diverse team of subject matter experts. Research contributions of such collaborative effort revolve around advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Digital Health (DH) systems, with a specific emphasis on their potential in healthcare delivery and care management.
Co-Presenter/Panelists
![[photo]](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ced9f101b9a684f74db13f9f7c3400df.png?d=https://proposalspace.com/images/no_photo.png&r=PG&s=50 "Megan Janke, Indiana University")
Megan Janke, Indiana University
Credentials
Ph.D., CTRS
Biographical Information
Megan C. Janke is an associate professor in the Department of Health and Wellness Design at Indiana University Bloomington. She earned her doctoral degree in human development and family studies with an emphasis in gerontology from the University of Georgia. She has been a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) for over 25 years and is a distinguished Fellow in the National Academy of Recreational Therapists. Her research and teaching interests focus on the relationship between leisure engagement and health promotion in later life. Specifically, she examines the reciprocal relationship between leisure and health outcomes for older adults, particularly during later life transitions.
![[photo]](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/be3078171fc73397dc57e593ebf9da8c.png?d=https://proposalspace.com/images/no_photo.png&r=PG&s=50 "Casey Bennett, Health Informatics DePaul University, College of Computing & Digital Media")
Casey Bennett, Health Informatics DePaul University, College of Computing & Digital Media
Credentials
Ph.D.
Biographical Information
Casey Bennett is an assistant professor and Chair of the Health Informatics program at DePaul University in Chicago, IL, in the Department of Computing & Digital Media (CDM), as well as a professor of data science at Hanyang University in Seoul (Korea). He was formerly a senior data scientist at several major healthcare organizations: Cigna, CVS Health, and Centerstone Research Institute. He received his PhD from the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University. His work focuses on artificial intelligence and biomedical informatics, including the areas of robotics, human-robot interaction, data warehousing, machine learning, clinical decision support, and personalized medicine. He was the lead designer for Centerstone’s award-winning organization-wide data warehouse and analytics platform in healthcare. He served as PI on studies on implementation of patient-reported outcome systems and AI-driven clinical decision support technology for mental health, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses in both payor and at-risk provider systems. He has also led teams developing robotic sensor systems to monitor in-home patient health, as well as interactive robotic faces.