Our students connect the dots differently

Other schools for complex learners define their cohorts based on their disabilities. We define ours based on their superpowers.

We work with a diverse group of students in grades K-12 who have very high analytical reasoning and or creating thinking skills. This includes kids who have an array of learning, social-emotional and/or neurophysiological differences. These students tend to see the world differently and make connections that others wouldn’t make. That makes them not just potential future professionals, but potential thought leaders.

Our program is as unique as the students we serve. Our unique educational program reduces or even removes learning and in some cases executive function and social-emotional challenges interfering with their ability to access their gifts through a research-backed methodology that’s only available at Cajal Academy. Meanwhile, our standards-align, project-based learning and Vision-to-Voice Curriculum develop the skills that our inherently innovative thinkers will need to thrive in a future defined by their strengths. The result is a paradigm shift for gifted and special education approaches, and for education as a whole.

Find out more about our admissions criteria below, or start your application online to determine if your child might be a good fit for our program.

Strong reasoning skills

All Cajal Academy students have very high analytical reasoning and/or creating thinking skills. Typically speaking, our students will score in the 87th-99.9%ile on the verbal comprehension index, fluid reasoning index and/or visual spatial index on the WISC-V or a similar examination, however exceptions may be made where other aspects of the student profile are likely or known to suppress scores on those measures. This is a determination that is made by our neuropsychologist on a case-by-case basis. We do not consider processing speed, working memory or full scale IQ in our admissions decisions, as low scores in these areas often reflect anxiety, depression and/or gross motor coordination challenges, which are common challenges among the cohort of students that we serve. Students who do not yet have neuropsychological testing may request screening by our neuropsychologist during the admissions process, however families who intend to seek school district reimbursement are encouraged to request an evaluation from their local school district. We do not require a separate entrance exam. Admissions and programming decisions are made based on the data in each child's profile rather than the diagnostic labels they have been given and thus we do not require prior designation as gifted or twice exceptional.

Diversity of student needs

Having high intellectual abilities is, statistically speaking, atypical, and for many gifted thinkers this is paired with other atypicalities as well. We work with a wide range of these students and embrace their diversity. This includes students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and dysgraphia; expressive and receptive language processing disorders; sensory processing disorders; executive function challenges including ADHD/ADD; social-emotional challenges such as low frustration tolerance, anxiety, depression, trauma, social cognition difficulties and ASD; sensory processing difficulties; language disorders; chronic medical conditions and more. We have been extremely successful helping students with even the most complex profiles overcome hypervigilance to failure and prior academic trauma and the school-based trauma, task avoidance and/or school refusal that often follow. We are the first school in the world tailored to the needs of students with connective tissue disorders and their related co-morbidities.

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A mixed age cohort, by design

Kids with the profiles we serve tend to more naturally find connection with kids who are older or younger than themselves than with kids who are the same age. Academically, many of our candidates over the years have been above grade level in some classes and below grade level in others—thus denying them appropriate learning partners within their same age peers. For both these reasons, Cajal Academy has a mix of ages within our program. All students learn the Connecticut state standards appropriate to their ability levels (with acceleration relative to grade level where appropriate) in age-based classes, and then come together with peers older and younger than themselves to apply those learnings to solve real world problems that make learning exciting and real. Along the way, younger students find mentors who can help them to chart the course and compassionately help fill social understandings, while older students build confidence and powerful leadership skills through the opportunities to mentor, guide and support their younger peers. These inter-age interactions develop core social-emotional skills that can then be applied with one’s same-age peers.

Motivated by community

Our approach leverages the power of the group as a powerful motivating and healing tool; for this to be effective, the child must feel a desire to be part of a connective community—even if they’re not sure how to go about that. Thus, ours is not an appropriate program for students who do not feel a desire for social connection. Core to our ethos of community is the precept that all students must feel safe in order to learn. We do not admit students who have a current history of being physically assaultive towards staff or peers or who show sadistic tendencies. Students who repeatedly engage in bullying behavior towards others may be asked to leave.

Ready for our unique set of tools

In our admissions process, our clinicians will work with your child to identify whether our unique toolbox is likely to be effective for addressing their core needs. Where the student has a need that requires interventions outside the scope of our program, admissions may be deferred until such time as those interventions have been obtained. For example, the effectiveness of our self-regulation interventions will depend on the nature of the drivers underlying the child’s dysregulation, and also the child’s ability to assimilate and apply our strategies. Thus, our program will not be appropriate for students having certain thought disorders and/or mood disorders without appropriate pharmacological intervention. Similarly, we do not have the knowledge, setting or expertise required for substance abuse rehabilitation. These concerns should be discussed with our Neuropsychologist in the admissions process.

Please note that for the protection of our staff and students, all students must meet Connecticut state immunization guidelines applicable to students attending private schools in the state.

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FAQs About Our Students

We start with the evaluations that have already been done for a child and then do additional screening during a child’s onsite interview. Typically, one or more of verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning or visual-spatial reasoning will measure in the 88th to 99.9th percentile, however lower scores may be considered where the child has diagnoses (including but not limited to certain language processing difficulties, mood disorders and chronic medical conditions) known to our clinicians to suppress these scores.
Students who have not had a neuropsychological or psycho-educational assessment including standardized intelligence testing within the past 3 years can request additional screening as part of the interview process, for an additional $250 fee. Please note that this assessment is purely for admissions purposes and a formal written report will not be provided.
Any additional OT, PT, SLP or other testing that is available for the child should also be provided. Our team looks at the data in these evaluations for indications of exceptional verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning and/or visual-spatial abilities. Typically one or more of these scores will in the 88th to 99.9th percentile, however lower scores may be considered where the child has diagnoses (including but not limited to certain language processing difficulties, mood disorders and chronic medical conditions) known to our clinicians to suppress these scores.
Our students have a very wide array of special needs, providing a rich diversity of experiences that benefits all our students, and a home for students having even the most complex overlapping diagnoses and/or who are considered to be “in a cohort of one.”
Common learning and social-emotional difficulties represented in our student body include ADHD, sensory processing disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, fine and/or gross motor coordination disorders, social cognition challenges, ASD, anxiety, depression, task avoidance, school refusal and more.
We also support students having chronic medical conditions. We are proud to be the first school in the world that offers specialized instruction empowering students with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and its common comorbidities, including POTs, dysautonomia, mast cell activation syndrome, chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndromes.
Our cohort of students spans a wide age range by design, for a number of reasons. First, it has been widely acknowledged that twice exceptional students tend to form kinships more easily with kids who are older or younger than themselves than with kids their own age. We find that our older students benefit from having the opportunity to lead, teach and mentor their younger peers, who in turn benefit from having older role models.
Academically, our students learn standards-based instruction within ability-based groupings. Some of our students may be several grade levels ahead in one subject and multiple grade levels behind in another, so having a mixed age cohort offers greater opportunities to learn with an appropriate learning peer.
There is a misconception that students with social challenges require a large cohort to grow. We leverage our small setting to develop the skills and understandings that intellectually-gifted students need to thrive. This mission drives all aspects of our program and approach, from our mixed age cohort to our use of community-wide project based learning units to create a shared sense of purpose across the cohort. This combination has led students to excel and even be recognized as leaders in larger, mainstream community settings.
No: Cajal Academy does not consider full scale IQ and we do not require prior designation as “gifted.” Working memory and processing speed (both of which are incorporated into full scale IQ) are highly vulnerable to anxiety and depression, so we do not use them in the admissions process. Many of our students have low working memory and/or processing speed, and this does not bar admissions.