Sources and Evidence
What we prioritize
- Current guidance from public-health agencies, pediatric bodies, government education agencies, and recognized professional organizations
- Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, consensus statements, and relevant peer-reviewed research
- Primary research when broader synthesis is unavailable, with its limits stated
- Official school, legal, or homeschool information labeled for the jurisdiction it covers
- High-quality secondary explanations only when they accurately represent the primary evidence
How citations are used
A citation should support the exact nearby factual claim. Recommendations on higher-risk subjects require independent support rather than several pages repeating the same original source. We do not treat search snippets, model output, or a list of links as evidence by themselves.
Freshness and link status
Source records include publication or update dates and a retrieval date. We prefer current guidance and recheck higher-risk topics more often. A temporary 403, 429, or timeout is marked unverified; it is not silently deleted or treated as proof that the underlying claim is wrong. Confirmed broken citations are replaced with an authoritative live source where possible.
What sources cannot do
Even strong research cannot account for every child’s needs, culture, history, disability, diagnosis, school setting, or local law. Our pages explain general evidence and referral boundaries; they do not replace individualized professional judgment.
If a source does not support a claim, is outdated, or has been superseded, please report it.