How listings work on Autism Hearts

How listings get on the site

Most listings are imported from the public NPI registry (the federal CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, NPPES). We use each provider's NPI number, name, main specialty (taxonomy) and practice address. Some listings also include details from other public sources, such as the practice's own website. State agency and community program entries are labeled "Program / Resource".

A listing imported from the registry is labeled "From public registry." That means it reflects a public filing. We haven't checked it, so it may be incomplete or out of date. Please confirm services, availability, costs and insurance directly with the provider.

How a practice claims its listing (free)

1. The practice signs in and submits a claim with name, work email, role, and optionally an NPI or license number.
2. They prove they manage the practice: their sign-in email domain matches the listing's website, or they enter a 6-digit code sent to the listing's public email.
3. An Autism Hearts admin reviews the claim.

Only then can the practice edit its listing. A verified claim tells you who manages the listing. It is not a rating of clinical quality, credentials, licensing or results.

What "Last verified" and the date labels mean

The date shown on a claimed listing is the last time the practice updated its own details in its dashboard. It is not a date when Autism Hearts checked the practice.

• "Verified by provider · updated [month year]": the practice passed the ownership check and updated its details within the last 12 months.
• "Claimed by practice · updated [month year]": the claim was approved without the domain or code check.
• "Last confirmed [month year]": the practice's last update is more than 12 months old. We hide intake/availability status on these listings because it may be out of date.
• "From public registry": registry data only, with no update from the practice.
• "Source reviewed [date] · official source" on some listings: the date a listed public source was reviewed, with a link to that source.

How listing order is decided

The main results never look at payment. The sorting code does not read whether a listing is Featured or what plan it is on. You can choose the order:

• Nearest first (default when you search by location): by distance. Listings without a real map location come after all listings with a known distance. Ties (within 0.05 miles) are broken by the completeness score, then name.
• Recommended (default without a location): claimed or verified listings first, then by completeness score, then A to Z.
• Name (A–Z) or Name (Z–A).

The completeness score counts only facts that help families: claimed/verified (30), a usable phone number (15), a website (15), a real description of at least 60 characters (15), ages served (10), accepted insurance (10) and listed features (5). More detail: How we rank.

Featured Partner: what it changes and what it doesn't

Featured is a paid plan: $19/mo (or $190/yr billed annually), with a 60-day free trial for eligible practices.

• What it changes: on city and directory pages, up to 3 Featured listings can appear in a separate box above the main results. The box is labeled "Featured Partner" with the note "Paid listing; doesn't affect organic ranking." If more than 3 are eligible for the same city and service, they rotate daily so each gets an equal share of days. Featured practices also get a fuller inquiry form, photos, a bio and analytics on their own listing, and their cards carry a "Featured Partner · Paid listing" label.
• What it doesn't change: it never moves, removes or adds anything in the main results. A Featured practice keeps the same organic position it would have without paying (it can show in both the box and its normal spot). It never changes verification status.
• When a subscription ends, the Featured-only details come off the public listing.

Practices: see Featured Partner details and the free trial.

Paying never hides information from families

No provider can pay to hide, remove or push down another listing. Every listing stays in the main results in the same order it would have without any payment. The Featured box is always labeled as paid. Paying doesn't change verification labels or remove any information a family can see.

Reporting a correction

Families and providers can both report an error:

• Use the corrections page. Include the page link, what's wrong and a source if you have one. For a listing, include the organization name and say whether you want a correction or removal. Please don't include private health information.
• Or email hello@autismhearts.com with the subject "AutismHearts correction".
• Providers can also claim their listing for free and fix their details directly.

We check significant corrections against available sources and update, clarify or remove information we can't back up. See the corrections policy.

We don't create star ratings, review counts or testimonials, and we don't import ratings from other sites.