Why Caju exists, and who's behind it.
A small story about a tool that started with one nephew, a few therapist conversations, and the realisation that home, therapy and school are too disconnected for the kids who need them most.
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The why
It started with neurodivergence in general. It got serious with autism.
The original idea was broader: a tool for several neurodivergent groups: autism, stroke, Alzheimer's, dementia. The pitches and conversations through XBoost.pt narrowed that. To do this well, we had to pick one.
The focus came from somewhere personal. My nephew has level 1 autism. Spending time with him, I realised how much potential was being left on the table. He could communicate more, learn more, do more. He had hours of therapy each week, and almost nothing carrying over into the home where he actually lives.
The tools we have are archaic.
Then I talked to therapists and psychologists. They confirmed the gap from the other side: the tools they have are scattered, fragmented, archaic. Nothing connects therapy, home, and school into a single picture for the child. After enough of these conversations, the decision was easy.
Caju officially started in July 2025. The mission has been the same since: connect the people in a child's life so the work doesn't stop when the session ends.
Our intended purpose
What Caju is, and isn't.
Plain words about what this tool sets out to do, so families, clinicians and regulators know exactly where we stand.
What Caju is
Caju is a general-purpose digital support tool for communication and daily-living routines. It provides picture-based communication boards, visual schedules, and parent-facing session summaries. It is designed to be used by families, educators, and care professionals as part of everyday life.
What Caju is not
Caju is not intended to diagnose, prevent, monitor, predict, prognose, treat, alleviate, or compensate for any disease, injury, or disability. It does not replace professional medical, psychological, speech, occupational, or behavioural therapy. It does not generate clinical records, clinical assessments, or treatment recommendations.
The team
A small Portugal-based team, building this with the people who use it.
Caju is being built as an early-access product, in close conversation with the families, therapists, psychologists and educators who use it day to day. What gets built next is shaped by what those conversations make obvious: what helps, what gets in the way, what's missing.
Built with families
We listen before we decide. Parents are part of every product call we make.
Informed by clinicians
Therapists and psychologists shape what gets built: what helps, what gets in the way.
Honest about what works
We're early access. Some things land, some don't. We share both.
We're looking for the right people to help build this. If that sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.
See how to joinWho we work with
Partners helping us along the way.
PACT: Parque do Alentejo de Ciência e Tecnologia
PACT is the Alentejo science and technology park. It hosts XBoost.pt (the accelerator where Caju was born) and has been our first institutional home.
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XBoost.pt: organised by e-games lab
XBoost is PACT's accelerator programme for gamified ideas, organised by e-games lab. Caju started there, as a gamified support tool. Their feedback (that we couldn't help everyone at once) is why we focused specifically on autism.
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INOVA Quality Hub
INOVA Quality Hub is an incubator currently supporting Caju as we move from validation into early-access growth.
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HealthQup
HealthQup is a Portuguese accelerator focused on health innovation. They're supporting Caju as we shape the product with families and clinicians.
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Where Caju has been covered.
Independent coverage of Caju and what we are building.
Caju on the IOL news portal: a project born in Évora to support children with autism and the people around them.
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A piece on how Caju started and the tools we build for families and professionals.
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Caju seen from Beja, as everyday support for children with autism.
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New in Évora tells the story behind Caju and what the app offers families and professionals.
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