Finding Autism Answers Up North

North Arrow ABA founder Jonathan Timm on treatment, legislation, and misinformation

By Todd VanSickle | Jan. 24, 2026

Jonathan Timm will never forget his first client as a behavior analyst.

“My first client was so challenging,” Timm says. “He was a preschooler. I think three years old.”

Timm recalls sweating and nervously giggling trying to make a connection with the young boy. “I remember him running away, throwing stuff, and I’m all over the place trying to keep him on task,” Timm says. “I almost stepped out of my master’s program because of how challenging it was.”

Instead, Timm stuck with it, and the boy went on to graduate from the program within a year and was back in a more traditional classroom.

“I’m not solely responsible for that, but I feel like just having a part in that kind of outcome where a kid can lead an independent and happier life is the coolest thing,” Timm says. “Behaviorism challenges you to look at failures as learning opportunities.”

Achieving Independence

In 2020, Timm founded North Arrow, an autism services provider specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), to help children and young adults with autism achieve functional independence.

North Arrow has grown to over 200 clients throughout northern Michigan and has staff members servicing the region from seven locations including Traverse City, Cadillac, Grayling, Gaylord, Petoskey, Cheboygan, and Sault Ste. Marie. That team includes 15 administrative staff and 40 board certified behavior analysts who have each completed more than 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork.

“It’s a pretty rigorous training standard,” Timm says. “I am super proud of our team of BCBAs. I think they are world class. It’s just cool to see the growth of that staff base, as well as having this collective knowledge base.”

North Arrow offers its services in various settings, including homes, schools, and at its headquarters on Cherry Bend Road in Traverse City.

“I was fortunate enough to find space in the Grand Traverse’s Regional Arts Campus,” Timm says. “It’s a perfect space for what we do. It’s a former elementary school, so parents are really excited about that. It resonated with families who wanted a place where they could bring their kids to an environment that feels like a school, that will prepare them for an eventual transition to a school environment, which is our goal.”

North Arrow meets clients almost anywhere. Sometimes it is recommended that treatment be conducted at the client’s home as long as there aren’t too many distractions.

“Homes can be great treatment environments as well,” Timm adds. “But if you have siblings running around and you have life happening in every room, it does create a little bit of a barrier to creating those optimal outcomes. So sometimes we’ll recommend we do services in the center.”

Working in Schools

Ultimately, North Arrow would like to offer more of their services in schools.

“We’re working through that right now,” Timm says. “There is some legislation that has been introduced at the state level that will particularly ask schools to have a policy about whether ABA services can be involved in that setting. … So we want to be able to help in schools. It's just going to take a little bit of collaboration and clarification of what is possible.”

Michigan introduced House Bill 5044 in late 2025. The law would require school districts to create policies allowing students to receive medically necessary treatments, like ABA, in a school setting when prescribed by a healthcare provider to improve access and reduce conflicts between education and healthcare for students with autism and other disabilities.

The legislation aims to integrate therapy with learning by allowing private providers to deliver care in schools, which is supported by the Autism Alliance of Michigan.

However, some lawmakers and educators oppose the bill and say it conflicts with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Others argue that students would be taken away from the classroom setting and/or the goals of private behavior technicians and schools may not be aligned.

Proponents of HB 5044 say the law would be integrated with Individualized Education Program (IEP) services, not replacing the existing program.

The law would require all public schools to adopt a written policy by July 1, 2026, for accommodating prescribed treatments. The bill has not been voted on as of January 2026.

A Two-Year Timeline

North Arrow clients range in age from two to 20 years old. They also serve older clients with different needs and behaviors, such as aggression, self-injury, and elopement (wandering away from caregivers).

Treatment starts with a comprehensive client assessment, and then intensive treatment plans consist of 10-40 hours per week with ongoing behavioral data recording. The goal is to transition clients back to their natural supports within two years, Timm says.

“We start discharge planning from day one,” Timm tells us. “Our goal is to work ourselves out of a job as soon as possible. There are varying degrees of that timeline. I would love for every kid in our company to not require services after two years of treatment. That is not a hard and fast rule.”

Medications are not used in North Arrow’s treatments.

“We’re not psychiatrists or medical practitioners,” Timm says. “I like my kids when I work with them to not be medicated for behavioral issues. That gives me a better understanding of what the actual function of behavior might be.”

Improving Lives

North Arrow receives most of its referrals through pediatricians, the internet, and Community Mental Health. North Arrow is part of the Michigan Autism Alliance.

“When I started in the field 16 years ago the autism rate was 1 in 68,” Timm says. “Now, I think 1 in 36 is diagnosed with autism.”

However, he doesn’t attribute the growth of North Arrow’s services to the increase of people with autism.

“The more people with autism, the more need there is for services,” Timm says. “But really, what it comes down to in northern Michigan is getting the word out about our services.”

About 16 years ago, there was a big insurance reform movement in Michigan that allowed coverage for ADA services, Timm says.

“When that happened, people started to learn about it,” Timm says. “There’s a lot of education and outreach necessary to make sure that families, and agencies know that we can help. We have data to prove we’ve improved the lives of many kids. It’s a really fascinating and fun thing to see.”

Autism Misinformation

Timm says that he has been in the field, misinformation about autism is at an all-time high. He relies on peer reviewed articles and studies that have disproven the link between vaccinations, circumcision, and autism.

“It all stems from a 1998 paper published by a British doctor who falsified the results,” Timm says. “He was banned from practicing medicine because of his falsified data. And here we are 27 years later and that stuff still continues to make its way into the perception of national leaders. I feel like we scientists are kind of drowned out by the volume of the misinformation.”

For self-preservation purposes, Timm tries to block out most of the lies and theories that circulate. However, he took it personally when he heard certain government officials state that individuals on the spectrum can’t lead a productive life.

“It really shook me up in terms of the hundreds of families I have worked with in the past,” he says. “There is hope for every individual diagnosed with autism. It does take a lot of work. Our interventions can be effortful and time intensive. To say that every family that has a kid on the spectrum is doomed for life is just not true. I’m speaking from experience, not just the data.”

Learn more about North Arrow at northarrowaba.com.