The much publicized experience of the girlfriend of Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy, and her son Evan, tells about a story of determination and intervention that seems to have helped Jenny McCarthy's young son to recover from the most severe symptoms of autism.

 

Her son did not suffer from severe autism, but his condition had been diagnosed as autism nonetheless.

 

She wrote her acocunt in Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism. She states in her book that she spent endless hours reading, consulting with doctors and searching the Internet for information on autism. She tried many therapies involving diet which had minimal positive effect.

 

Evan suffered from seizures when he was little, and was prescribed anticonvulsants. It was after being treated with medications  that he was later diagnosed. The seizure medicine left him "alternately manic, spouting gibberish and nearly comatose."

 

Some of Evan's symptoms were ritualistic, linin up  his toys at  home, flappping his arms and hands excitedly, described as self-stimulatory behavior. He had a facination with door hinges and when he went shopping with his mother, would ride up and down the escalators 100 times. Her marriage broke up as a result of her pursuit of treatment for her son, and the strain it all put on the marriage.

 

The autism program at UCLA was a remarkable success for Evan. He showed marekd improvement in language skills, but when the program concluded, costly private services were needed, running $75.00 an hour or $2,250 a week. McCarthy took out a second mortgage to pay for the therapy and Evan began in-home behavioral therapy and speech therapy, in addition to an "array of non-traditional treatments."

 

All of this  helped Evan to shake most of the symptoms of autism, and is no longer considered autistic. Additionally, with McCarthy's relationship with Jim Carrey, the story is related of Carrey's interest in her son, taking much time with him and giving him attention in a personal way. This, McCarthy feels, also contributed to Evan's recovery.

 

It is probable that most children can be helped through intensive therapy and attention to lifestyle changes. (See main autism page.) This does not mean that most children can recover completely from autism, but perhaps 1/3  can show marked improvement in their symtoms or even recover, and another 1/3 can achieve some improvement.

 

The most severely autistic children might be least likely to fully recover, however, it is possible that some might be  helped as well. Dr. Andrew Zimmerman is a pediatric neurlogist at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, who feels that 10% of autistic children can be helped to achieve recovery from the disorder.