We empower transformative social-emotional growth that transfers across settings, by teaching them how they can turn core universal truths about body-brain connections in their favor

We propel sustained, cross-setting social-emotional growth by helping students understand how their learning, social & emotional experiences are influenced by their unique profiles—and how they can use those connections to improve their own outcomes. At the heart of this approach is the scientific reality that our thoughts, feelings and academic access are deeply influenced by our unique profile of neuropsychological “splinter skills” on the one hand, and our then-current level of neurophysiologic regulation on the other. Stress, anxiety, sadness, joy, excitement, happiness and depression are not just emotional states but physiologic ones. Often, physiologic responses are so closely tied to a given emotional state that we will experience them as an emotional reaction. However, these body-brain connections are bilateral—so they can be used to re-regulate the brain as well. For instance, students who have sensory processing disorders may be profoundly overwhelmed by a strong sensory input, but for all of us, specific sensory inputs release neurochemicals in the brain that, when applied in the correct sequence and amount, can re-regulate the brain as well.

This premise flows throughout all aspects of Cajal Academy’s social-emotional approach. Use these links to learn more about our pioneering, Neuro- and Trauma-Informed Approach and how we use it to empower kids to understand their own actions and shift from social learners into social leaders; to give kids agency over their experiences in the moment through strategies they can use to self-monitor, self-manage and self-advocate for their needs; and to propel student growth through coaching in moments of conflict—whether that is between two students or between a student and a task that scares them. Parents report that this translates to sustained social growth at home and in the community, often within just a couple months of joining the program.

Use these links to learn more about the core components of our approach.

A break through for social-emotional supports within educational settings

Neuropsychologist and Director of Research Steven Mattis, PhD, A.B.P.P., Co-Founder and Head of School Cheryl Viirand and Co-Founder and Director of Therapies Heather Edwards—Cajal Academy’s program architects—discuss the unique, Neuro- and Trauma-Informed Approach they created and pioneer at Cajal. This approach expands on the trauma-informed schools movement to integrate the neuroscience revealing how our neurophysiologic states impact our emotional, social and learning experiences. This powerful methodology offers exciting possibilities for mainstream environments, by unlocking social-emotional growth for students with autonomic regulatory difficulties, including PTSD but also sensory processing disorder, chronic medical conditions, thermoregulatory difficulties and more.

Our Neuro- and Trauma-Informed Approach isn’t just a system for responding to student behaviors; it’s a fundamental shift in how we understand children, and in their hands it becomes a toolbox for gaining agency over their own experiences, and for fostering truly-inclusive neurodiverse communities

Our Neuro- and Trauma-Informed Approach is a fundamental shift in how we understand children. This shift to understanding children’s actions and experiences through “The Lens of the Not Yet Skills” goes beyond how we understand and respond to student behaviors and forms the basis of our social-emotional curriculum for our students. This includes highly-personalized Growth Mindset and Agency Coaching helping them learn how to optimize their own learning and social-emotional experiences on the one hand, and our Community-Centered Social Curriculum, which teaches them how to apply that knowledge to understanding the actions of their peers, and foster truly inclusive communities. Use these links to learn about this powerful approach.

At the core of our social-emotional approach is highly-individualized instruction in how students can leverage their own unique body-brain connections to regain and proactively maintain the regulation required for learning and social-emotional growth. We help students integrate, master and ultimately utilize these strategies in real time through a multi-disciplinary approach that includes physio therapies on the one hand and on the other, Growth Mindset and Agency Coaching: a powerful component of the Neuroplasticity School model pioneered at Cajal Academy, which helps students apply their analytical reasoning skills to make connections between their social, emotional, academic and physical experiences and the neuropsychological and neurophysiological influences that drive them. Over time, this knowledge lays the groundwork for students to learn how to interrupt those processes, driving a “Moment of Choice” between their reactions and their responses so that they can better align their actions to their social and academic goals.

At the core of the curriculum itself is the understanding that social interactions reflect each child’s “Not Yet Skills:” a lens that replaces culturally-loaded concepts like “character” that kids may struggle to make actionable with the more scientifically-grounded understanding that our current social experiences are the product of myriad skills—which we can develop through the process of neuroplasticity. This gives kids permission to be who they are and where they are in the learning process, and a growth mindset about their own emotional development.

We coach our students in how to use this powerful lens to understand their peers’ actions as well, giving them powerful perspectives that foster social and emotional resilience. We infuse these understandings throughout our program, specifically fostering our community’s unique culture of not just accepting but celebrating one another’s differences. By educating students on the science of how children grow, think and feel, and on the range of neurophysiological differences, we provide the basis for true empathy towards one’s peers. Learning differences, self-regulation challenges and more become “just science,” taking the judgment out so kids can bring their best selves to the learning experience. Within our student body, this translates into an authentic culture of shared progress, as students gain confidence and a vocabulary for sharing and supporting both our challenges and our victories, harnessing the healing power of a safe and supportive peer group. This provides what is for many kids a first experience of being able to safely acknowledge and receive support for their struggles within a peer community, fostering life-long skills in seeking and accepting support for our challenges.

Taking this a step further, we put these understandings at the heart of a toolbox kids can use to foster truly inclusive neurodivergent communities, with a shift from “following the rules” to “fostering community” as the goal of our social-emotional and behavioral curriculum. Paradoxically, our small setting accelerates this work, by giving students a safe and more predictable social environment within which to do the self-reflective work required to master these new skills. Parents report that this approach, which is unique to Cajal Academy, translates to sustained social growth at home and in the community, often within just a couple months of joining the program.