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When Josh Tutin was three years old, he was diagnosed with autism so severe that experts believed it unlikely he would ever go to a ­mainstream school.

He had tantrum after tantrum, and his mother Renitha feared her little boy was incapable of understanding emotions.

Then, Renitha read that playing a musical instrument could help, so she taught Josh the piano when he was four.

Renitha also spent hours crawling and climbing with him to ease his coordination problems.

Now the Bristol boy is a happy 10-year-old who attends a mainstream school, loves maths, plays the piano and often has a hug and a comforting word for others.

His turnaround raised an important question: Had Josh grown out of his condition?

And could that mean the future faced by other children diagnosed with autism is starting to look very different?

Over the past year, reports from America have suggested the idea may not be as ­far-fetched as it sounds.

The latest report, released last month by US psychologists, identified 34 children and young people with ­high-functioning autism who appeared to have recovered from the developmental disorder.

Tests concluded they no longer suffered autistic symptoms, which make it difficult to communicate and socialise.

Families of the 100,000 British people affected by autism will cling on to these US findings as hope for the future.

Yet experts in this country warn autism remains a lifelong condition and more work needs to be done to conclude anything different.

Professor Richard Hastings, a professor of psychology at Bangor University, says: “Suggesting this is evidence that children can recover from autism is misleading.”

However, Professor Hastings, who is also an advisor to the charity ­Ambitious about Autism says the researchers themselves admit there are many unanswered questions ­surrounding the findings.

“These new studies are interesting, but they don’t refute the idea that autism is a lifelong condition.

“You can never say never because we don’t completely understand the nature of autism.

"At the moment it is still very unclear why it happens, and until you can be clear about that, it is hard to work out whether ‘recovery’ might be possible,” he says.

(Image: Alistair Heap)

Some experts and many parents say reports that autism can be grown out of are dangerous, giving false hope to families. But they agree that with help ­children with autism can make incredible progress, which exceeds expectations.

Even Josh’s mother is firm in her view that autism is a condition for life.

“Children don’t grow out of being autistic, but some can learn to live with it,” says Renitha, who has ­written a book about the strategies she believes helped Josh called My Child Is Autistic (AuthorHouseUK, £7.99.)

“In Josh’s case it has taken a huge amount of hard work to get us to where we are now and he still has support with his lessons.”

Experts agree that getting the right help tailored to the individual child is key.

Caroline Hattersley, head of information, advice and advocacy at The National ­Autistic Society, says: “Our view is that people do not grow out of autism. It cannot be cured, and an autism diagnosis can be devastating for a family.

“But families do come out the other side. There are strategies to help, and people and places to support them.

“Children with autism have so many strengths as well. Through finding the right support, they can reach their full potential and live an active and engaged life. They can be happy.”

For Federay Holmes and her husband Jonathan Jenney, being told their eldest son Pascal was on the autistic spectrum when he was three was devastating.

“It was like falling into a black hole,” says Federay, 44, an actress and author.

“I’d known there was something wrong from a very early age,” explains the ­mum-of-three.

“Pascal couldn’t interact with other children and any change in routine would throw him completely. If a stranger walked into the room, he’d lie down flat on the floor.

“His frustration and fear led him to having tantrums – real showstoppers – all the time.

"As a mother, I just didn’t know how to care for him. The toll on family life was just huge.

“At that time I had no idea how he would ever be able to attend school. That dream seemed totally unattainable.”

Federay spent hours trawling the internet and reading scientific reports, desperate to find something to help her terrified child.

She came across Parents for the Early Intervention for Autism in Children, known as Peach.

This charity supports the use of Applied Behavioural Analysis, one of many different approaches to working with ­children with autism.

(Image: David Hill)

Federay, from Lewes, East Sussex, trained as a tutor and, alongside four others from Peach, spent 30 hours a week helping Pascal unlock his understanding of the world around him.

Federay broke down all the things that Pascal had to learn, from eating with a knife and fork to toilet training and recognising colours, lavishing praise and giving rewards such as letting him play with his Thomas the Tank Engine for every shred of progress.

When teaching him to get dressed, just managing to put one item on was a cause for celebration. Progress was very slow and Federay had to be patient.

“It was very hard work, and very expensive. The ­training cost around £17,000 a year, which we ­eventually got part-funded by the local education authority.

“It is certainly not for everyone. We decided to give it a try for six months, but within just a few days I started to see an amazing difference.

"For the first time, I saw Pascal’s confidence emerge. I saw him responding to praise and wanting to do more.

"Pascal, the individual with likes and dislikes and a personality all of his own, was ­emerging before my eyes.”

ABA works by breaking down complex skills into small steps, and teaching each tiny part using positive reinforcement in a way that motivates an individual child.

Suzy Yardley, clinical manager at Peach, says: “Tremendous progress can be made but it depends where the child starts on the autism spectrum, and if there are any other related difficulties.

"What’s amazing progress in one family may be different in another.

"I can’t see that autism is something you can outgrow, but sometimes the difference we see far exceeds families’ expectations.”

Pascal’s behavioural therapy at home continued until he was five. From five and a half he started attending a mainstream primary school, and a year later he was at school full time.

Now 12, at mainstream secondary school, Pascal is a different boy.

“He is happy and popular,” says Federay, “He’s a little eccentric, but his friends understand that’s just him, and it’s even seen as quite cool that he does some things differently.”

He has some core lessons in smaller, specialised groups, but normal classes for other subjects.

“Teachers tell me he is an asset in the classroom, and I can’t tell you how amazing that feels.”

“I think he will be able to live and work independently.

"That realisation is enormous – a million miles from when he was ­diagnosed, when my first thought was ‘what will happen to him when I die?’

“Early intervention helped unlock Pascal from his own world and allowed him to enter society, but not every child with autism will respond in the same way.”

Yet Federay does not believe her son will ever be without autism.

“To suggest that’s possible is dangerous. Accepting autism is part of your child is an important step in dealing with it and getting the right help.”

Elliot's progress has far exceeded expectations

(Image: Phil Harris)

Su and Lindsay Thomas’s son Elliot is now at college – something that seemed unthinkable when he was diagnosed with autism 15 years ago.

Su, 55, from North London, an advisor for the charity Ambitious about Autism, says: Elliot is now 18 and studying animal care at college.

"He has ambitions to work at London Zoo, which I really don’t think are unrealistic.

He left mainstream school with four GCSEs and his prospects are a world away from when he was first diagnosed with autism aged three.

Back then he was hyperactive, he couldn’t speak, he found it hard to focus and was filled with frustration. We thought we would be caring for him 24/7.

Now he is simply a lovely human being. His progress has far exceeded our expectations and, with our support, he is able to live a fairly independent life.

I gave up my management job when Elliot was three to help him with more than 30 hours a week of intensive behavioural therapy.

This continued for three years, until he went to a mainstream school full time.

Elliot has autism, he will always have autism, but he will also be a member of society who I hope will be able to work and do something useful with his life.

But it is dangerous to suggest cures, and I believe it gives false hopes. In our family, we never looked too far ahead.

We just took things one day at a time.

VISIT WWW.AUTISM.ORG.UK OR CALL THE NATIONAL ­AUTISTIC SOCIETY HELPLINE ON 0808 800 4104

WWW.AMBITIOUSABOUTAUTISM.CO.UK

WWW.PEACH.ORG.UK