When we launched the Center for Neurodiversity earlier this year, we did so with a clear aspiration. We wanted to create a place where neurodivergent individuals and their support networks could feel connected, understood, and equipped with meaningful tools for growth. The announcement of our acquisition of A Little Compassion’s Gatherings and Acceptance, Inclusion and Outreach programs marks an important step forward in this work. It also affirms something essential about who we are becoming as a school and an institution.
A Little Compassion has long championed a simple but powerful truth. People thrive when they have spaces that feel safe, welcoming, and familiar. Their Gatherings built community through shared experiences and offered young adults a chance to belong. Knowing that these beloved programs will continue under the Center for Neurodiversity is both a privilege and a responsibility. It reflects our ongoing commitment to honor what makes each person unique while creating opportunities for connection and confidence.
Two Pathways. One Mission.
As the Center for Neurodiversity grows, it is important to name clearly that its purpose extends beyond the day-to-day experience of Franklin Academy students. The Center operates as a distinctly separate but deeply aligned entity. Franklin Academy remains focused on the academic, social, and personal development of our students on campus. The Center serves as the outreach arm of our mission, responding to a growing regional and national need for services and community spaces that support neurodivergent individuals of all ages.
The connection between the school and the Center is grounded in shared values. Both believe in inclusivity. Both aim to advance understanding. Both are rooted in the belief that neurodivergent people deserve environments where they can explore their strengths and access tailored support. Yet the Center’s expanding portfolio of programs will allow it to serve a broader public, offering resources and services that extend far beyond what a school alone can provide.
A Hub of Services for a Growing Need
The acquisition of the Gatherings provides more than continuity. It serves as a launching pad for the next phase of the Center’s development. Over the next six months, as we formalize a dedicated site for the Center in East Haddam, we are preparing to build a comprehensive hub of services for the wider neurodivergent community.
This includes planned offerings such as
• Evaluations and screening tools that families can trust
• Occupational therapy services
• Speech and language support
• College counseling and transition planning
• Executive functioning coaching
• Free and contract based professional development
• Workshops and consulting for schools, families, and community partners
As these services grow, the Center will stand as a steady and reliable resource for individuals and families searching for pathways to thrive. With a physical home in East Haddam, the Center will become a recognizable beacon. It will be a place where people walk through the door and feel a sense of possibility.
Honoring Our Community Roots
The Gatherings remain at the heart of this expansion. They are the foundation on which future programming will be built. These social experiences, from hikes to open mic nights to Conversations and Connections, demonstrate the impact of belonging. Thousands of participants have found joy, comfort, and friendship through these events. Preserving that spirit is central to what we hope to achieve in the Center’s next chapter.
The work ahead will be thoughtful and intentional. It will require listening closely to the needs of participants, families, and community partners. Above all, it will require us to stay true to the belief that sparked both A Little Compassion and the Center for Neurodiversity. Everyone deserves a place to be fully themselves.
As we enter this next phase, I am grateful for the trust placed in us and energized by the opportunity before us. The expansion of the Center for Neurodiversity is not an added project, nor is it a sidebar to our mission. It is a meaningful extension of the values that guide Franklin Academy.
This is a moment of sustained momentum for our school and our broader community. We are preparing to offer a level of support and connection that matches the increasing needs of neurodivergent individuals and their families in our region and beyond. We are building something that lasts. Something that welcomes. Something that matters.
And it begins with community. It begins with connection. It begins with the Gatherings.
