Dr. Christina Iyama, an associate professor of pediatrics at UW-Madison, said she is angered that the Fitchburg center purports to help children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

“There is no reason to think that a supplemental dose of oxygen would fix autism,” she said. “It’s not even theoretically useful.”

“You can’t go around recommending things to other people on no scientific basis,” she said. “To prey upon people who aren’t able to cure their children is an outrage.”

Dr. Carl Stafstrom, chief of pediatric neurology at UW Hospital in Madison, said people should be very skeptical of hyperbaric therapy as a treatment for neurological disorders.