BY CARLY DRYDEN >LA.COM

Actress Jenny McCarthy's best-selling memoir of raising and healing a child with autism has drawn much attention to the developmental disorder - along with a fair amount of debate over the validity of her approach.

McCarthy couldn't care less about the latter.

"To me, helping thousands and thousands of families far outweighs any kind of negativity," McCarthy said. "I love knowing that what worked for me worked for thousands of others. But it's like chemotherapy -- it works for some, not others. But it's worth a try."

The actress and author - who already had penned three books on motherhood - became the willing poster girl of autism, going public with her son's struggle in May. Her fourth book, "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism" (Dutton) detailing her battle with her son Evan's disorder from diagnosis at age 2 1/2 to recovery, was released in September.

Along with providing helpful resources for parents, the New York Times best seller portrays every painful detail of McCarthy's battle to help Evan through the disorder and even describes the crumbling and eventual collapse of her marriage to actor/director John Asher.

"I'm very known for being honest, so it's kind of perfect how it worked out," said McCarthy, 34. "And I know thousands of moms that come up to me and write letters and stop me in stores and say, `Thank you for being our voice.' Because their voice, no one was listening to."

McCarthy, though, has a way of being heard.

The brash, comic TV and film actress did for autism what actor Michael J. Fox did for Parkinson's disease - catapulting the condition into the center of the media spotlight.

Larry King, Oprah Winfrey and People magazine scrambled to interview the blonde bombshell about her approach to treating autism and how she and her family dealt with the potentially devastating condition.

McCarthy treated Evan, now 5, using the Defeat Autism Now (DAN) approach, a project of the Autism Research Institute in San Diego, which combines medical, nutritional and behavioral practices for treating the disorder.

She placed Evan on a strict gluten- and casein-free diet, known to help autistic children with gastrointestinal problems. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and prepared foods such as bread, cakes, pastas and cereals. Casein is found in dairy products.

McCarthy also took sugar and yeast out of his diet.

Meanwhile, Evan underwent applied behavior analysis, a one-on-one therapy that breaks more complex tasks into simple steps. He also worked with a speech therapist and a DAN doctor.

In discussing "Louder Than Words," McCarthy has made it clear she is simply a mother telling her personal story, not a doctor promoting a one-size-fits-all cure for autism. But tales of her struggle have resulted in a negative backlash from those who say she is forcing her treatment plan down parents' throats.

"Standard academics will just bash it (the diet) because they don't know anything about it," said Dr. Daniel Amen, a nationally recognized psychiatrist and brain imaging expert with a clinic based in Newport Beach.

Christy Crider, director of administration for Autism Behavior Consultants, a Southern California agency that helps parents dealing with autism and behavioral disorders, said some parents are angry with McCarthy because they have tried the diet and it failed, and it hurts them to see her promoting it. Other parents, she said, just haven't taken time to listen to McCarthy's story fully.

"The controversy lies in what people think she's saying - and they haven't actually heard her," Crider said.

Many doctors argue that a gluten- and casein-free diet plan, such as the one McCarthy administered to her son, has not been proven to correct intestinal problems.

Others counter that there is a proven high prevalence of gastrointestinal problems and chronic yeast infections in autistic children.

"Once all of the toxic flora and yeast is out of their system, they're like a new kid," Crider said.

Many autistic children, such as Evan, also have weak immune systems, making it difficult for them to fight off the bad flora in their intestines and the chronic yeast infections to which they are susceptible.

For Evan, the diet worked; his language skills doubled, and he has been mainstreamed into a traditional school setting.

Autism specialists say the diet McCarthy used for her son has been around for years, but it took the actress' story to bring its success rate to public attention.

In 1967, the Autism Research Institute in San Diego began conducting an ongoing survey of parents of autistic children. After following a gluten- and casein-free diet, 65 percent of about 2,200 parents surveyed said their child got better with the diet, said Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association and the mother of an autistic child.

"The gluten- and casein-free diet is not new; parents started doing it many years ago," Fournier said.

According to Fournier, children with autism often have gut inflammation or leaky gut syndrome. Their intestines have perforations, and food proteins get in their bloodstream and have neurological effects such as lack of focus, problems with attention or a feeling of being high - often known as the foggy "opiate effect."

"The diet is a fantastic intervention. It's non-invasive, it's not risky, and it can have a tremendous positive effect," Fournier said.

Autism associations, parents and specialists across the globe praise McCarthy for bringing much-needed attention to a disorder that affects 1 in 150 children and whose cause, though highly debated, is still not specifically known.

McCarthy and other parents claim there may be an association with the mercury-containing vaccines given to newborns and infants and the schedule of vaccinations - another source of debate.

"We're not against vaccines, but when a child gets 36 shots by the time they're 3 years old ... it's ridiculous to think that every child is going to get the same results from the same shots," Crider said. Her son, who has autism, developed high fevers after every shot, she said, and was constantly on antibiotics.

Other doctors and specialists claim that because autism symptoms often appear in children around the same time they get the vaccines, it is simply coincidence.

Regardless of the debate, McCarthy's outspokenness seems to have given courage to parents around the world to confront - and not be ashamed of - their child's disorder.

"The stigma is removed now. She opened the floodgates for others," Crider said. "I always protected (my son) because I didn't want anyone to know and label him. I don't want my child to be a circus act ... but Jenny made me feel OK to talk about it."

McCarthy's advice to all parents of autistic children boils down to remaining positive and taking action.

"A lot of moms I've met I call the `woe is me moms,' and I can relate," she said. "But they stay in this pity zone, and you can't. There's a timeline to fix your kid, and you have to pick yourself up, stay positive, look forward, do the best you can to make your child feel good- - and educate yourself."

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Since the September publication of her book, "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism," actress Jenny McCarthy has been front and center in discussions of the condition and how it has affected her son, Evan, and her life in general (she and Evan's father, John Asher, are divorced and she is now dating actor Jim Carrey). McCarthy isn't at a loss for words on the topic.

Tell me about Evan.
Well, now he's functioning in a typical school. He doesn't need speech therapy anymore. He likes to tease and hide in the house so he can be peeking out from behind the curtains. He's a real jokester, so the apple didn't fall far from the tree in terms of busting some chops. ... I'm so glad he got that part of me.

Being known as such an outgoing, funny person, how were you able to go out and have people take you seriously about this? How hard was it to put a serious face on autism?
You know, there was no other choice I had. I knew it was my destiny to do what I've been doing. So I really wasn't too worried about people taking me on as an experienced, serious role model for autism. All I know is that I was going to go out and tell my story. Everyone has two sides to their personality: their public image - even people not in the business, like one at the office - and then you go home and you've got much more depth. People just saw the other side of me - the home Jenny. Going out there was just me without my bag of tricks. And I wasn't worried because everything I was saying was coming from my heart, and I knew that in the long run it was going to help people.

Have you tried other types of therapy besides speech and play, like animal-assisted therapy?
Oh, I am sooo about outdoor therapy. I think it is an amazing, beautiful thing because it helps kids connect with animals. I've used scent therapy, which uses fragrances to wake up the brain, so to speak. In terms of how these kids want to control conversations and their world, its funny how people think they should be structured for that and need that. I have another concept of this. I break that world apart. The world cannot be mapped out the rest of your life. So why train a young kid to control - because life is out of control? When Evan falls into those patterns of control, like "What are we doing next?" I won't tell him. I think if you're going to mold someone, you should mold someone around how life is. You surely don't have a set schedule unless it's like "work, work out, come home."

But you can't help who's gonna run into you. Things that are gonna happen. I'm maybe what you'd call a "loving torturist mom." As soon as he starts doing a pattern, I break it immediately.

What activities do you like to do with Evan?
We love hiking. I just bought a RAZR electric motor scooter, and we ride that around town. I like to do physical activities that are fun for me. Like riding a motorcycle or swimming.

Have there been any therapies or diet changes that you've tried recently that have been really successful?
RDI (Relationship Development Intervention)! RDIconnect.com. It's a therapy I had just found out about right after I sent my book to the publisher. I remember at the back of the book, I wrote, "I'm about to start RDI, I'll let you know in the next book." And RDI is wonderful; it puts the mom in charge as therapist. We kind of rely on all of these other people to come and take our babies and fix them. RDI trains you to be the therapist in life. And I gotta tell you, it's one of the most empowering, wonderful things you can do.

On a more personal note, Evan's condition took such a toll on your marriage. You eventually got a divorce, and it hurt so many personal relationships. How did you find the strength to get through it? How did such a funny, upbeat person thrust into such a serious issue make it out alive?
I don't know, honestly. I have a lot more wrinkles, I'll tell you that. It's really hard going through it alone. Fortunately Jim (Carrey) came into my life. ... So you know, I'm glad that I had that shoulder, but I'd like to tell parents, because the divorce rate is 80 percent, do your best. Do your damn best to try to stick it out. Because it takes a team to fix your kid. And fortunately I had money to fix this - not that much money, I had to take out loans, but I did pay for help. So, stay positive and find a shoulder to cry on.

What do you see or want for Evan in the future?
I would love for Evan to just be happy -- happy doing whatever it is he wants to do in life. I'd love for him to have typical relationships. I'd love for him, when he gets to high school, to come home with hickeys on his neck. I want the best that life has to offer. As long as he's happy and able to function independently, that would be everything to me.

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Carley Dryden, (310) 540-5511, Ext. 380