Jenny McCarthy Tells Oprah that Autism Can Be Reversed

When you think of Jenny McCarthy, you probably visualize a buxom blonde holding hands with funny man Jim Carrey. She's the former Playboy Playmate of the Year who jumped into the hearts of men with her good looks and later caught the attention of women with her funny personality. However, recently, she appeared on Oprah showing a more serious side; she spoke about her fight against autism.

Autism is a developmental disorder in children often characterized by impaired communication, excessive rigidity and emotional detachment. Through her book "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism," McCarthy reveals her struggles to reverse the effects of it on her son, Evan John Asher. She gives a hindsight and current view of how she deals with her son's autism.

Like many mothers, McCarthy interpreted all of Evan's behavior in the most positive light. The flapping of his hands. How he played (or didn't play) differently than other kids. His pre-occupation with spinning objects. These were all things she thought were just unique to his personality. However, one day, the light clicked on.

It occurred approximately one month after she read an article about autism and thanked God that Evan didn't have it. She began looking at his behavior and realizing that something was wrong, Worried, she searched online to find clues.

By googling his symptoms, McCarthy figured out her son was suffering from autism. Then, the real fight began. She had to learn how to give Evan the best quality of life despite his disorder.

Again, through Google and a friendly relationship with another mother dealing with a child suffering from the same disorder (actress Holly Robinson Peete), Jenny McCarthy found ways to reduce the effects of autism in her son Evan. Below are some of the things she spoke about on Oprah.

* A Gluten-Free Diet. A couple of weeks after she changed her son's diet, he began to utter words and pay better attention.

* Video-Tape Modeling. Evan didn't know how to play. So, through video taping things like her catching a ball with another person, he was able to learn how to do the same activity.

* Using Your Gut as a Mother. McCarthy stressed that each child dealing with autism is a case-by-case study. As a result, she used her gut instincts many times to figure out what to do to help him.

Due to her diligence, McCarthy is now seeing more 'normal' behavior in her son. As a result, she hopes her book will give other mothers dealing with autism the inspiration and faith to try every possible avenue to help their child. She believes it can make the difference of a functioning or non-functioning child suffering from this disorder.

Did you know?

Some people believe that the vaccinations including Thimerosal can cause autism. It's what Jenny McCarthy and other mothers blame their child's disorder on. The Centers for Disease Control is still researching this allegation and have yet to link the two together.