For years, parents have clung to stories passed around the internet or told with optimism in parents groups. Now, both parents and doctors have renewed hope with the release of a report from the University of Connecticut.

Published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the clinical study examined 34 people who had been diagnosed with autism before age 5, but are now cured. The study's lead researcher was quick to state that most children will not recover, and it's unknown why some recover while others do not.

"This study will help researchers believe reports of families and clinicians who say that their child has recovered from autism," psychologist Grace Gengoux, an autism specialist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University told the San Jose Mercury News.

The article, written by Chris Palmer, also profiled a Palo Alto teenager who was diagnosed with autism at age 4, but is no longer diagnosed with the disorder. His mother, Jill Rege, detailed her son's treatment-- speech therapy, occupational therapy, special diets and other medical interventions.