Essay from Choriyeva Xurmo

Young Central Asian woman with curly dark hair and earrings and a white collared blouse.

DEVELOPING COGNITIVE ACTIVITY IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN THROUGH DIGITAL EDUCATIONAL TOOLS

Choriyeva Xurmo Panji qizi

Termiz State Pedagogical Institute

Faculty of Preschool and Primary Education

Department of Preschool Education

Preschool Education Major, 2nd Year, Group 204

Student

Abstract: This article explores the role of digital educational tools in enhancing cognitive activity among preschool children. It highlights how interactive technologies, multimedia resources, and digital games can stimulate curiosity, problem-solving skills, and logical thinking in early childhood education. The study emphasizes that integrating digital tools into preschool curricula helps create a more engaging and effective learning environment. Additionally, the psychological and pedagogical aspects of using technology with young learners are analyzed. The paper concludes that a balanced use of digital resources can significantly contribute to children’s cognitive, emotional, and creative development.

Keywords: digital education, preschool children, cognitive development, interactive learning, information technology, innovative pedagogy, early childhood education.

In the modern educational landscape, the integration of digital technologies has become a key factor in improving the quality of teaching and learning processes. Preschool education, as the foundation of lifelong learning, plays a crucial role in the formation of children’s cognitive, emotional, and social competencies. Therefore, the use of digital educational tools in preschool settings is gaining increasing attention among educators and researchers.

Cognitive development in early childhood is a dynamic process that involves perception, attention, memory, imagination, and logical reasoning. Digital tools such as interactive games, animated educational programs, and multimedia applications can effectively support this process by creating an engaging and multisensory learning environment. Through visual and auditory stimuli, children are encouraged to explore, experiment, and make independent discoveries, which strengthens their cognitive abilities and motivation to learn.

However, it is important to ensure that the implementation of digital education in preschool institutions is pedagogically justified and developmentally appropriate. Teachers should not merely replace traditional activities with digital ones but use technology as a means to enhance creativity, cooperation, and problem-solving. Properly designed digital resources help preschoolers build foundational skills for future learning, while also maintaining the balance between screen-based and hands-on activities.

The aim of this study is to examine the pedagogical significance of digital educational tools in developing cognitive activity among preschool children, to identify effective methods of their application, and to analyze the potential benefits and challenges of digitalization in early childhood education.

The integration of digital educational tools into preschool education has transformed the way young children learn, think, and interact with their environment. In early childhood, cognitive development is one of the most significant aspects of overall growth, as it determines a child’s ability to understand, reason, remember, and solve problems. The use of digital technologies such as interactive games, multimedia lessons, and virtual simulations offers new opportunities to stimulate these mental processes in more engaging and effective ways. When properly designed and implemented, digital education not only attracts children’s attention but also strengthens their logical thinking, imagination, and independent learning skills.

Preschool children naturally have a high level of curiosity and a strong desire to explore the world around them. Digital learning environments can channel this curiosity into constructive educational experiences. For example, interactive applications that allow children to experiment with colors, shapes, sounds, and movement promote active participation and self-expression. Educational cartoons and multimedia presentations provide visual support that enhances perception and memory retention. Through such experiences, children learn not only to recognize objects or perform simple tasks but also to connect ideas, make predictions, and draw conclusions based on what they observe.

Another important aspect of using digital educational tools is the development of problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities. Many educational games are designed around challenges that require children to think strategically, identify patterns, and find creative solutions. When a child interacts with such a game, they are not simply entertained; they engage in a process of analysis and decision-making that strengthens neural connections related to reasoning. Moreover, the instant feedback provided by digital tools helps children understand their mistakes and correct them immediately, fostering a sense of self-evaluation and perseverance.

At the same time, digital technologies support differentiated learning by allowing each child to progress at their own pace. In a traditional classroom, it is often difficult for teachers to adapt to every child’s individual learning needs. Digital platforms, however, can offer tasks of varying complexity, ensuring that children who grasp concepts quickly are challenged appropriately, while those who need more time receive additional support. This flexibility helps reduce frustration and builds confidence in learning, both of which are crucial for healthy cognitive development.

Pedagogically, the role of the teacher remains central in guiding digital learning experiences. Technology should not replace the educator but rather serve as a tool to enrich teaching methods. The teacher’s task is to select age-appropriate content, organize learning activities that balance digital and physical interaction, and provide emotional support to maintain motivation. For instance, a teacher might combine an interactive alphabet app with a traditional storytelling session, allowing children to connect digital symbols with real-world experiences. In this way, technology becomes a bridge between abstract knowledge and tangible understanding.

However, the use of digital tools in preschool education must also consider the psychological and developmental characteristics of young children. Their attention span is short, and excessive exposure to screens may lead to fatigue or overstimulation. Therefore, digital sessions should be limited in duration and integrated with hands-on, sensory, and outdoor activities. Research suggests that the most effective digital learning experiences occur when they are combined with social interaction and creative play. Group activities using digital boards, for example, encourage teamwork and communication, while still fostering cognitive engagement.

The aesthetic and emotional aspects of digital education also contribute significantly to children’s development. Interactive animations, colors, sounds, and characters can evoke emotions that deepen learning experiences. When children feel joy, curiosity, or surprise, their brains are more receptive to new information. This emotional engagement is vital in preschool years, as it lays the foundation for lifelong motivation to learn. Digital storytelling tools, in particular, have proven effective in stimulating imagination and empathy by allowing children to participate in narrative creation and visualization.

From a methodological perspective, digital learning tools enable teachers to apply constructivist and activity-based approaches more effectively. In constructivist learning, children actively build their knowledge through exploration rather than passively receiving information. Digital environments, with their interactive features and immediate feedback, perfectly align with this approach. For example, when a child uses an app to build virtual structures or simulate natural phenomena, they are not just memorizing facts but engaging in discovery and experimentation. Such experiences enhance cognitive flexibility and conceptual understanding.

Moreover, digital education supports the development of metacognitive skills in preschool children — the ability to think about one’s own thinking. Although this ability is still emerging at an early age, digital activities that involve reflection, repetition, and feedback can strengthen it. For instance, after completing a digital puzzle, a child might review the steps they took and recognize which strategies worked best. This awareness fosters self-regulation and independent learning, essential components of cognitive maturity.

The implementation of digital tools in preschool settings also encourages collaboration between teachers, parents, and technology developers. Parents can participate in their children’s learning by using similar educational applications at home, ensuring continuity between school and family environments. When parents and teachers communicate about the child’s progress in digital activities, it enhances understanding of the child’s strengths and challenges. Furthermore, developers can design culturally relevant and pedagogically sound content tailored to local educational needs, thereby improving the overall quality of preschool digital education.

Nevertheless, it is crucial to maintain balance and avoid overreliance on technology. Cognitive development in preschool years depends not only on intellectual stimulation but also on physical, emotional, and social experiences. Therefore, digital learning should complement — not replace — traditional forms of play, communication, and creativity. The best results are achieved when digital tools are integrated thoughtfully into a holistic educational process that values interaction, exploration, and imagination.

In conclusion, digital educational tools have become powerful resources for stimulating cognitive activity among preschool children. When applied responsibly, they provide rich opportunities for children to explore, experiment, and think critically. By engaging multiple senses and offering interactive experiences, digital learning helps children develop memory, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities from an early age. The key to success lies in balanced, age-appropriate implementation guided by skilled educators who understand both the potential and the limitations of technology. Through such integration, preschool education can evolve into a dynamic system that nurtures curiosity, creativity, and lifelong learning.

The use of digital educational tools in preschool education represents a significant step toward modernizing and enriching early childhood learning. By integrating interactive technologies into the teaching process, educators can stimulate the development of children’s cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, reasoning, and imagination. Digital tools—when thoughtfully selected and pedagogically justified—help create multisensory experiences that make learning enjoyable, meaningful, and effective.

The study demonstrates that digital technologies encourage active participation, independence, and curiosity in preschoolers, which are essential factors for intellectual growth. Interactive media, educational games, and virtual simulations not only attract children’s attention but also teach them to solve problems, make decisions, and evaluate outcomes. Moreover, the use of technology promotes individualized learning paths, allowing each child to progress according to their developmental pace and interests.

At the same time, balance remains a crucial principle in digital education. Preschool children must not be exposed to excessive screen time, and digital sessions should always be complemented by creative, physical, and social activities. Teachers play a key role in mediating the use of technology, guiding children’s interactions with digital tools, and ensuring that emotional and moral values are maintained throughout the process.

Ultimately, digital education should serve as an effective pedagogical instrument, not as an end in itself. When used responsibly, it strengthens the connection between play and learning, fosters imagination, and equips children with foundational cognitive and creative skills necessary for future academic success. The thoughtful integration of digital tools in preschool institutions will thus contribute to forming a generation of learners who are curious, motivated, and capable of critical and creative thinking.

References

Plowman, L., McPake, J., & Stephen, C. (2010). The Technologisation of Childhood? Young Children and Technology in the Home. Children & Society, 24(1), 63–74.

Siraj-Blatchford, J., & Whitebread, D. (2003). Supporting Information and Communication Technology in the Early Years. Open University Press.

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054.

Alper, M., & Herr-Stephenson, R. (2013). Connecting Online and Offline Play: Imagining the Future of Digital Learning for Preschoolers. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 13(2), 197–220.

Yelland, N. (2018). Young Children as Critical Thinkers: Technology in Early Childhood Education. Routledge.

Flewitt, R., Messer, D., & Kucirkova, N. (2015). New Directions for Early Literacy in a Digital Age: The iPad. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 15(3), 289–310.

Neumann, M. M., & Neumann, D. L. (2014). Touch Screen Tablets and Emergent Literacy of Preschoolers. Australian Journal of Education, 58(2), 109–122.

Burnett, C. (2010). Technology and Literacy in Early Childhood Educational Settings: A Review of Research. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10(3), 247–270.

Donohue, C. (Ed.). (2015). Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years: Tools for Teaching and Learning. Routledge.

Marsh, J., & Bishop, J. (2014). Changing Play: Play, Media and Commercial Culture from the 1950s to the Present Day. Open University Press.

Essay from Mashhura Ochilova

Young Central Asian woman in a classroom in front of a gray wall in a white dress with tiny pink flowers. She holds a certificate in front of a bunch of flags.

The High Value of the New Uzbekistan: The Global Ascent of Uzbek Women in Art and Beyond

Uzbekistan today stands at a decisive stage in its historical development — a period marked by rapid transformation, renewal, and the elevation of human dignity as a national priority. Within this dynamic process, women of Uzbekistan have become the defining force shaping the most inspiring chapters of the nation’s progress. They are not only the pillars of families and communities but also the driving agents of innovation, knowledge, and creativity. Through their remarkable achievements in science, technology, economy, culture, and sports, Uzbek women are capturing the attention of the world.

The status of women in Uzbekistan today goes far beyond symbolic respect. It is reinforced through tangible policies and initiatives that promote gender equality, remove structural barriers, and create strong platforms for personal and professional growth. This article explores the key directions of this rapid evolution, focusing on the mechanisms that empower women and the extraordinary accomplishments that have gained international recognition. Uzbek women are defining a new trend — one where intelligence, perseverance, and creativity merge to shape a globally admired identity.

The cornerstone of Uzbek women’s success lies in education. The country has made significant strides in ensuring that girls receive quality education and are encouraged to pursue modern and in-demand professions. In recent years, admission quotas for higher education have increased substantially, alongside the introduction of special grants and scholarships for female students. As a result, women now constitute more than half of all university students — a figure that symbolizes not merely numerical progress but a long-term investment in the nation’s intellectual capital.

Beyond traditional fields, young Uzbek women are making impressive strides in STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. They are entering disciplines such as IT, artificial intelligence, robotics, and engineering, supported by newly established IT parks and specialized training centers across the regions. Many of these women have earned recognition at international competitions and conferences, reinforcing Uzbekistan’s growing presence on the global technological map.

The rising number of women earning Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctor of Science (DSc) degrees also signifies a powerful intellectual awakening. Uzbek female researchers are contributing meaningful innovations across fields like ecology, medicine, economics, and the humanities. Their discoveries enhance not only national academic prestige but also global scientific collaboration.

Economic independence and entrepreneurial spirit represent another defining dimension of Uzbek women’s global ascent. The government’s ongoing support for female entrepreneurship — through grants, preferential loans, and training programs — has enabled thousands of women to start their own businesses and achieve financial autonomy. Over the past few years, the number of women entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan has nearly doubled, with their enterprises thriving in both traditional and emerging sectors.

Female-led businesses are now reaching international markets, proudly showcasing the “Made in Uzbekistan” label. From textile production to handicrafts, from food industries to technology-driven services, Uzbek women are redefining the standards of excellence and creativity. Their achievements are not only contributing to economic growth but also shaping a more inclusive and sustainable model of national development.

Uzbek women are also becoming global ambassadors of culture and art. Designers, performers, dancers, and visual artists from Uzbekistan are earning recognition at international festivals, exhibitions, and creative platforms. They skillfully blend national traditions with modern aesthetics, giving a fresh and distinctive identity to Uzbek art on the world stage.

In sports, Uzbek female athletes continue to bring pride to the nation by winning gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Asian tournaments. Their accomplishments in boxing, judo, weightlifting, and rhythmic gymnastics are powerful symbols of resilience, confidence, and determination. These victories serve as a source of inspiration for the younger generation, particularly for young girls who now believe that their dreams have no boundaries.

In conclusion, the women of Uzbekistan today embody intelligence, creativity, and perseverance that transcend national borders. Their dynamic participation in education, science, entrepreneurship, culture, and sports exemplifies the nation’s human-centered development strategy and its commitment to equality and empowerment. Every achievement of an Uzbek woman represents a collective triumph — a reflection of a society that believes in the power of opportunity and the worth of every individual. Uzbek women are not only shaping the New Uzbekistan but also redefining what it means to be successful in the modern world. Through their strength and creativity, they are giving birth to a new form of art — the art of ambition, progress, and excellence — a legacy that will inspire generations to come.

Mashhura Ochilova was born on August 14, 2001, in Sherobod district, Surxondaryo region, Uzbekistan.

She is a graduate of the Faculty of Philology at Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages, majoring in Korean and English philology.

Mashhura is an educator of Korean and English languages and a regional-stage participant of the prestigious Zulfiya State Prize competition.

She is the author of more than twenty international scholarly articles and has actively participated in academic presentations and conferences held in countries such as Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the United States. Her research papers have been translated into English and Turkish and published in international journals indexed on the Google Scholar platform.

Fluent in Korean and English, and proficient in Russian and Turkish, she demonstrates strong multilingual competence. Currently, she serves as the Director of the Yumyong Academy Online Learning Center, where she teaches nearly 200 students in Korean and English languages, contributing to cross-cultural education and linguistic development.

Poetry from Abdulhafiz Iduoze

The Enigies of Benin,

The Enogie of Evboesi,

Ogiefo Festus, That First of His Name.

Koh, Baba. Lamogun.

Plain how those sons crashed!

Against Elegbe?!!! How they crashed…

They can not know they can not

Do how they crashed. Ah, crash!

In the tele-vision they crashed,

And for change, and it occurs —

It harries without a tinge abode

Catered to fear, to any endear

Which may seal the fate of man

And wring him upon shores spelt

About momentums and securities,

Magnanimities however still

As cold steel watches and waits

To the coming seasons uncease

Slashing down the tomfoolery

To upraise the forest voices

Unanimously, unctuous, uncouth

As that crash! The heart beats

And the voice hears vodoo spells

Wailing to repel and return in form

The ruckus trucking the sacred,

That capital that’s chopping herds

And droves to sacrilege thereat

Wisdom wills umpteenth, wars

With eyes and animus minstrels

Sung at the bottom line,

Sung far as sands obliterate

The waters to form the continents —

Which holds the planets if not

The sacred fields of order

Wherein magnetism morphs

Polymorphic gravity — heat, light;

Co-planar forces forcing the hand

To hope to touch the feet

And wear a feat of hope from

The sundials trolling misery.

It can not be said unsaid,

As is the modicum of tantamount

Tunes thinning the tireless herd,

That its self spits fire and roars —

That bull that bullish, scrapes off

Tarrifs and sprouts plantations,

That bows to win ineluctably,

That modifies geographies at once

Inspired out of those telemetries.

Hearts ease. The Gods recommend

From the heights of Pergammus

With wine and rest and visual

Ventricles stretched about arouse,

Stun stings stint stow strength.

Poetry from J.K. Durick

  Books

I’m jealous of my books

Sitting over there

So smugly on their shelves

Complete, closed

Finished years ago.

Almost all their authors

Have moved on

Untouchable now

And all I have left

Are these reminders

Lined up side by side

Shoulder to shoulder

Settled in

Knowing their place

In my small world

And that bigger

Outside world where

People know them

Glad to see them

Hold them, read them

Sometimes I dust them

Tend to them as their keeper

Their clumsy, quiet keeper

Who has discovered

His place and is now

Jealous of theirs.

         Cold War

These days it’s easy to miss

and even reminisce fondly

about the Cold War –

the coldness of it,

the threats of it,

the simple sides –

one world power

vs. the only other.

Back then it seemed

like there were only two,

and the rest,

the non-world power countries

sat back waiting, watching,

anticipating outcomes.

We imagined spies

and checkpoints,

missiles pointing

this way and that.

We listened to speeches,

the good guys and the bad,

understood the easy equation

of mutual destruction,

measured the future

in terms of numbers

and then sizes of weapons.

Those were simpler times,

checkers instead of chess,

a simple plot scheme,

cowboys and Indians,

just children at play

as opposed to today.

           Haiku

It’s hard to get a haiku

to happen.

First of all, we must

adjust our thinking,

get big ideas in small spaces

a small upstairs room

instead of crowded

street scenes,

more Dickinson

than Whitman.

Then we get to count

three lines

and words viewed

in their pieces –

syllable count

oh, syllable count.

We get to see them

in a different light

broken down

into the parts we rarely

remember.

And the haiku needs

an image to play on

and a speaker we trust

to lead us through

the lines, the words

and the brief moment

we give over

to its take of the small

world we share.

Poetry from Mykyta Ryzhykh

2 poems (***)

***

Dead as a broken moon

Sober as a leaf of a proud tree

Flimsy like pearls of dew in the wind

Tired like evaporated moisture

Free as the yolk in a broken egg

Quiet as a dead man in an evening cemetery

I drink the silence of calm before the execution

***

V. Burich

Wanting love is like lying on the tram tracks

Water is jealous of the density of air in a smoky apartment

You smoke a lot and you’re addicted

I’m addicted to you and your night breath

I’m addicted to your airy body

You’re bending over with a roll-your-own cigarette in your mouth like a sexy snake

Let’s go drink the air of a park frozen in winter time

You won’t come and will continue to smoke alone

I’m also lonely but I don’t smoke

You will die of lung cancer, but I have already died of love for you

We say goodbye lying on two parallel tram tracks

We don’t even say goodbye we just resign ourselves to sleep

Poetry from Dianne Reeves Angel

The Great Buster Keaton

They called him Buster before he could walk,
a name bestowed mid-flight.

The small body airborne… tumbling across a tent floor,
Thud!
Landing against a wall.
Splat!

The crowd gasps.
His father grins.
His mother braces
for the next throw.

Little Buster learned the language of flight and fall,
of prat and pathos,
his bruises spelling destiny in slapstick form.

Even before the tiny tyke could talk
he knew the music of collapse,
how a tumble, timed just right,
could make the audiences roar.

A suitcase handle sewn into his shirt
so he could be caught — whoosh! — or hurled,
or lifted once more toward the lights.

Tossed and tossed again.

No wings held him aloft – only force.
Applied gently, they said.
He knew how to land without getting hurt, they said.

Whack! — the floor met his shoulder.
Clunk! — the chair gave way.

No one blinked
as he sailed through the air with the greatest of ease.
Whoosh! Crash! Oof!

Poor little beggar.
If he wept, he saved it for the wings.

Every gesture a theorem,
every stumble a lesson in physics.
He mapped the universe in pratfalls,
angles, arcs, impossible collisions.

The film sets became his instruments.
He built cathedrals of collapse,
stood ghostly-serene at their altars of debris.

The house closed around him — Boom! —
but he did not move.

The General thundered beneath him,
Chuff-chuff! Hiss! Steam! Screech!

He rode its spine through fire and wreckage,
choreographing peril with the calm of a monk.

If the world was falling apart,
he would stand at its center – unblinking,
his hat flat as a crushed box.

He rose through skylights,
swung from cranes,
rode locomotives like comets through smoke —
Bang! Clang! Crash!

When sound arrived it struck him mute.

The clatter of words drowned the music of motion.
The studios – deaf to grace –
bound him in contracts and broke his heart.

Yet film remembers what men forget.
Decades later — click-whirr-flicker —
there he was, forever falling,
forever rising,
forever young,
the universe collapsing in perfect rhythm
around that impassive, ghostly face.

They said he was reckless.
They didn’t see the math —
the quiet calculus of momentum and grace,
the prayers murmured in angles.

The man was broken.
His body a grieving testimony
to fractured bones and battered necks.
Crack. Pop. Groan.

Fame has no loyalty.
The applause faded.
The wife who once adored him
bled him dry.

He gave her laughter;
she returned silence.

Yet his sons, God bless them,
saw the angel in their father’s battered frame,
the kindness behind the mask,
the gentleness no camera could steal.

It is said he lost a forefinger to a clothes wringer.
Whirrrr! Snap! 
Gashed his head with a brick that boomeranged —
Thunk! 
And was once sucked from an upstairs window
by a passing cyclone — Whoooosh! —
carried floating through the air,
and set down, unhurt,
in the middle of a street a few blocks away.

That face — oh, that face —
the stillest face in motion pictures,
an angel carved from exhaustion and grace.

Eyes like cloud light before a storm,
mouth a straight horizon line
against which the world could crash.

He did not flinch.
He never would.

In the twilight reels of his life,
Buster walked once more into the light,
a man stitched together by falls,
patched with laughter,
tempered in silence.

The world had turned to color and chatter,
but he remained black-and-white and eternal.
A ghostly flicker of silver
drifting upward through the hum of the projector.

Samuel Beckett once said he had
“the perfect face for the condition of being.”
And it was true.
His face a canvas
where absurdity met grace,
silence met survival.

Click.
Whirr.
Flicker.

And there, amid the hiss of the film, the shimmer of dust —
a single line escaped him,
soft as breath:

I think I have had the happiest and luckiest of lives.

He smiled — almost —
and vanished
into light.

Essay from Kandy Fontaine

By Kandy Fontaine (Alex S. Johnson)

In 2019, I underwent a four-hour neuropsychological evaluation with Dr. Kimberly Lanni at Kaiser Permanente. She was never authorized to treat me as a therapist, yet the consequences of that single session have followed me for years. Not because of the evaluation itself, but because of what came after: a fabricated designation in my patient chart labeling me as a safety threat, a misdiagnosis that contradicts multiple other evaluations, and a pattern of conduct that raises serious ethical concerns—including her published autism research at the UC Davis MIND Institute.

I am a transfemme author, editor, and founder of Nocturnicorn Books, a literary imprint that has published 40 books and platformed icons like David J. Haskins, Jarboe, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Ron Whitehead, and Poppy Z. Brite. My editorial persona, Kandy Fontaine, is a glam voltage source for transgressive, queer, and mythic literature. I’ve built an archive that centers the haunted, the silenced, and the divine. And yet, despite this legacy, I am still forced to fear for my safety every time I walk into a Kaiser facility.

The Origin: One Evaluation, Lifelong Fallout

Dr. Lanni’s role was strictly limited to conducting a neuropsychological test—not therapy, not ongoing care, and certainly not long-term behavioral profiling. Yet she issued a clinical judgment that I had Dependent Personality Disorder and Severe Somatic Symptoms Disorder—labels that have since been contradicted by other licensed professionals who found no evidence of either condition.

Worse, she appears to have fabricated documentation that resulted in my chart being flagged with a safety threat notice. This designation is not visible to me—but it is visible to Kaiser security personnel, who are automatically alerted whenever I arrive for care. I’ve never made threats. I’ve never acted violently. I’ve never endangered staff or patients. Yet my presence triggers a silent alarm.

The Surreal Reality of Being Flagged Without Cause

The safety threat label has turned routine medical visits into psychological minefields. I’ve been:

  • Silently profiled at check-in
  • Monitored by security without explanation or justification
  • Forced to relive the trauma of being falsely labeled—again and again

There was no incident. No confrontation. No behavioral justification. Just one evaluation—and years of fallout.

I recently filed a fresh grievance with Kaiser, demanding that the safety threat designation be removed. It continues to cause emotional distress, disrupt my access to care, and undermine my safety as a patient.

Allegations of Professional Misconduct

My experience with Dr. Lanni raises serious concerns about her professional conduct:

  • Misdiagnosis: Her conclusions were not supported by the evaluation or by subsequent assessments from other professionals
  • Fabrication: The safety threat label appears to be based on false or exaggerated documentation
  • Retaliation: I believe this label was applied in response to my questioning of her diagnosis and filing of grievances
  • Defamation: The label has damaged my reputation within Kaiser’s system and may have influenced other providers’ perceptions of me

Autism Research and Documented Use of Restraint

Dr. Lanni’s published work includes contributions to autism studies at the UC Davis MIND Institute, including the Autism Phenome Project (APP) and GAIN (Girls with Autism – Imaging of Neurodevelopment). These studies involved:

  • Simulated MRI environments to acclimate children to scanning procedures
  • Use of mock MRI machines that replicate the noise and physical setup of real scans
  • Participants as young as 2–6 years old, many with autism or intellectual disabilities

In her own publications, Dr. Lanni and her co-authors explicitly describe the use of restraint to keep children still during these procedures. The term “restrained” appears in the context of preparing children for imaging sessions, often in combination with exposure to loud, repetitive MRI-like noise.

While these methods may have been approved by institutional review boards, their ethical implications are profound—especially when applied to nonverbal, sensory-sensitive, or developmentally disabled children. The use of restraint, even in a research setting, demands rigorous trauma-informed safeguards, transparent consent protocols, and ongoing ethical scrutiny.

In my published critique, Spit Takes, I analyze the language and framing of these studies. The research often pathologizes neurodivergent traits and risks reinforcing harmful stereotypes. The documented use of restraint—on children who may not have had the capacity to consent—raises urgent questions about power, consent, and the ethics of data collection in autism research.

The Emotional Toll

This isn’t just a bureaucratic error. It’s a form of psychological violence. It undermines my ability to access care, damages my reputation within the system, and retraumatizes me every time I seek help.

I’ve documented my experience publicly, including on Reddit, where my posts have received thousands of views. I’ve spoken out not just for myself, but for others who may have been similarly harmed.

Call for Investigation and Justice

I am not a threat. I am a patient. I am a survivor. And I deserve care without fear.

I call on Kaiser Permanente to launch a full investigation into the safety threat designation placed on my chart, and to remove it immediately. I call on UC Davis to reexamine the ethics of its autism research protocols, especially those involving restraint and sensory exposure in vulnerable children.

I call for justice—for myself, and for anyone else who has been harmed by institutional misconduct disguised as care.