Schedule
Saturday, February 21, 2026
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Light Breakfast, Games, Exhibitors, Networking
10:00 am - 10:10 am
Opening Words
10:10 am - 11:00 am
Gareth Walkom "Life Is A Video Game: What I've Learned From Navigating The Levels as a Person Who Stutters"
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Christopher “Riggy2k3” Riggs "Streaming Game Development as a Digital Support System: Exploring Social Connection Through Online Creative Practice"
Monica Murphy "Designing Digital Worlds: Supporting Complex Communicators Through Virtual Contexts in Teletherapy"
Lauren Dowd and Sophia Newcomer "From Play to Progress: Therapy Through Roblox for School-Aged Clients"
Luke Tellis and Ava Laukaitis "Leveling Up Speech Therapy: Cortical Activation During Roblox-Related Tasks"
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch, Games, Exhibitors, Networking
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Poster Presentations (see list below), Games, Exhibitors, Networking
Alphabetized Poster List (by Title)
Be Internet Awesome: Building Digital Literacy and Cognitive-Pragmatic Communication Through Guided Play
Authors: Mia M. Russo, Kelly J. Nide, and Erik X. Raj
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Co-designing with Children – Frusjoytion, A Game About Frustrating Fun
Authors: Mike P. Montulet, Camryn A. Moschitta, and Erik X. Raj
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Designing Digital Worlds: Supporting Complex Communicators Through Virtual Contexts in Teletherapy
Author: Monica Murphy
Affiliation: Equinox Speech & Language Services, Brattleboro, Vermont, USA
Esports and the Positive Impact on Student Attendance
Author: Patt Dennis
Affiliation: Garden State Esports, New Jersey, USA
From Play to Progress: Therapy Through Roblox for School-Aged Clients
Authors: Lauren Dowd, Sophia Newcomer, and Glen Tellis
Affiliation: Misericordia University, Dallas, Pennsylvania, USA
Immersive Learning Opportunities for Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Student Training in Endoscopy
Authors: Katherine Olson, Julia Quintin, and Susan M. Pattay
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Leveling Up Speech Therapy: Cortical Activation During Roblox-Related Tasks
Authors: Luke Tellis and Ava Laukaitis
Affiliations: Dallas High School, Dallas, Pennsylvania, USA (Luke); Misericordia University, Dallas, Pennsylvania, USA (Ava)
More Than a Fight: Finding Strength, Skill, and Self in Fighting Games
Authors: Lucas LoBello, Ephraim Washington, and Erik X. Raj
Affiliations: Matawan Regional High School, Aberdeen, New Jersey, USA (Lucas); Independent Scholar, West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA (Ephraim); Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA (Erik)
Playful Progress: The Role of Gaming in Speech Therapy
Authors: Kearston Healey, Melissa Giomboni, Madelyn Stuart, and Ella Burns
Affiliation: Misericordia University, Dallas, Pennsylvania, USA
Please Select Difficulty: Barriers to Video Games in the English Classroom
Author: Emily Zbyszynski
Affiliation: Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, USA
Projections that Strengthen Pragmatics and Executive Function at the Tovertafel® Magic Table
Authors: Jessica Rostron and Erik X. Raj
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Streaming Game Development as a Digital Support System: Exploring Social Connection Through Online Creative Practice
Author: Christopher “Riggy2k3” Riggs
Affiliation: Independent Scholar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Technologies in Therapy of Deaf or Hard of Hearing - The Polish Perspectives
Authors: Katarzyna Ita Bieńkowska, Natalia Radkowska-Marczak, Agnieszka Jedlińska, and Maria Faściszewska
Affiliations: - The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland (Katarzyna, Natalia, and Agnieszka), University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland (Maria)
The Adapted Stairway to Virtual Reality Speech-Language Therapy
Authors: James Paladino and Joshua Nathan
Affiliation: The Center for Discovery, Harris, New York, USA
The Evolution of Videogame Addiction
Author: Josh Bycer
Affiliation: Game-Wisdom, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
The Use of Video Games in Speech Therapy - Perspectives of Polish Speech-Language Pathologists
Authors: Natalia Radkowska-Marczak and Erik X. Raj
Affiliations: The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland (Natalia), Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA (Erik)
Up the Light: A Game for Speech Sounds and More
Authors: May Z. Alkaisi, Brittany T. Bross, Lindsey M. Probola, Samantha R. Tolentino, and Erik X. Raj
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Utilizing AI to Bring Student Narratives to Life
Author: Felicita Chipak
Affiliation: Divergent Speech LLC, Port Ewen, New York, USA
When the Game Has No Story: Using an Open-Ended Platformer to Support Narrative Language in Middle School Students
Authors: Lauren E. Habib, Jenna R. Walch, and Erik X. Raj
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Wonder Flower: Planting Seeds of Life and Language in a Pixelated City
Authors: Ava Charleston, Noelle Parrino, and Erik X. Raj
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Luisa Rinaudo "More than a Game: A Panel of Client Voices, Choices, and Connection"
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Josh Bound "Social Gaming for Inclusivity"
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Patt Dennis "Esports in the Library? Developing Impactful Research and New Literacies-based Esports Programs in School Libraries."
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Kacey Doran and Aaron Talasnik "University Esports Partnerships: On Campus Experiential and Theoretical Learning at Rowan and Neumann"
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Kelly J. Nide and Mia M. Russo "Interland Demonstration" (https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland/)
Noelle Parrino and Ava Charleston "Wonder Flower Demonstration" (https://squiggythings.itch.io/wonderflower)
Jenna R. Walch and Lauren E. Habib "Slippy Demonstration" (https://stuffedwombat.itch.io/slippy)
Jessica Rostron "Mingle Demonstration" (https://cookiecrayon.itch.io/mingle)
Mike P. Montulet and Camryn A. Moschitta “Frusjoytion Demonstration” (Still in Development, Coming Soon)
Erik X. Raj "Snowball Boy and the Missing Nose" (Still in Development, Coming Soon)
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Closing Words