The Parent Guidebook exists because families researching autism care at midnight deserve information that is accurate, current, and honest about what is and isn't known. This page explains how we try to earn that trust — and what to do when we fall short.
How topics are chosen
Chapters come from real questions: the things parents tell us they wish someone had explained sooner, the questions submitted through the form at the bottom of every guide, and the recurring gaps we see families fall into while navigating Wisconsin systems. We write the chapter we couldn't find when we needed it.
How evidence is selected
When a claim is clinical or scientific, we prefer sources in roughly this order: systematic reviews and meta-analyses; randomized controlled trials; clinical practice guidelines from recognized professional bodies; government and professional authorities; and other peer-reviewed research. For Wisconsin program facts — Medicaid rules, county contacts, school processes — we go to the primary source: the state agency, the county office, the district.
We try to say plainly which claims rest on strong evidence, which on promising or emerging evidence, and which are genuinely unsettled — including when published researchers disagree with each other. A single study never proves a treatment works for every child, and we won't pretend otherwise.
How guides are cited and dated
Substantive clinical claims carry numbered citations to the actual source — journal, year, and DOI where one exists. Guides show when their facts were last verified, and Wisconsin-specific details carry their verification date because programs and phone numbers change.
Clinical review — where it stands, honestly
Fathom North is a clinic being built; our founding clinical leadership has not yet been hired. Guides that make clinical claims are marked "Clinical review: pending" — meaning they were written and sourced carefully, and they will be formally reviewed by our founding clinical leadership when in place, then corrected wherever review requires it. We would rather show you that label than invent a reviewer.
Corrections
If something in the Guidebook is wrong, outdated, or misleading, we want to know: hello@fathomnorth.com. Verified errors are corrected in the page itself, and the "last verified" date is updated. Questions submitted through the guides are read by a person and regularly turn into revisions.
What the Guidebook is — and isn't
Everything here is general education for families, not clinical advice about any particular child. No page can substitute for evaluation and guidance from qualified professionals who actually know your child. Where a guide touches decisions — hours, providers, therapies — its job is to make you a sharper participant in those conversations, not to replace them.
Written and maintained by the Fathom North founding team · This page last updated August 2026.