In her emotional new memoir, Louder Than Words, Jenny McCarthy documents life with her 5-year-old son Evan, who was first diagnosed three years with having autism. And in the latest PEOPLE cover story, she talks about his remarkable progress with the boy, thanks to some controversial therapies she found.

"I don't want to come across like a preacher," says McCarthy, 34. "All I'm doing is showing there are things you can do to ease autism." Of how Evan has advanced, she says, "At 3 he had the skills of a 1-year-old. [Now] people are shocked when they meet him."

While Evan's condition took a toll on her life, McCarthy's marriage to his father, John Asher, was brought "to an inevitable end," she says.

But now there's another man in her life: Jim Carrey, 45, whom McCarthy has been dating for more than a year in what she calls "a beautiful relationship - and I'm glad to say there are three of us in it."

At first, it took time to introduce her son to Carrey, she recalls, "But Jim reacted better than anyone ever did. He was intrigued. He asked questions. ... Beyond doubt it was written in the stars that Jim and Evan were a pair. He's actually helped Evan get past some obstacles I couldn't."

For more on Jenny and Evan's story, including an exclusive excerpt from her book, pick up this week's PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

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TACA has grown so much over the past six years and our amazing volunteers help make TACA do what it does for families. Currently over 100 volunteers allow TACA to run and serve more than 2,600 families. Volunteer hours are crucial to our operations and so needed and appreciated.

It is our goal to make volunteer positions available to those in our community (family, friends, vendors, and sometimes our parents) as times permits in our busy schedules!

Please consider this options:

• TACA 4th annual Family Picnic on September 30, 2007 in Irvine will need over 75 volunteers. We are looking for NON-TACA members to volunteer their time so our TACA MEMBERS can have a wonderful family day. Please contact Elizabeth to express your interest.
  
  
• TACA Librarian for TACA Los Angeles, TACA Visalia and TACA Corona:  Attend every TACA meeting, bring all loaner books to the meeting. Help families select books and obtain the materials back from the families. For more information please contact Julia (Los Angeles), Lynne (Visalia) or Tami (Corona).
  
  
• TACA Corona needs Co-coordinator help. Responsibilities are to assist with the efforts in Corona, help with set up and clean up for the meetings and parent support. For more information, please contact Tami.

Thank you for considering a volunteer position at TACA.

Great news! The leading autism organizations are joining forces to form the Autism Collaboration to better meet your needs.

I would like to thank Dr. Edelson for creating the collaboration of organizations, including Autism One, Autism Research Institute, Autism Society of America, Generation Rescue, Medigenesis, National Autism Association, SafeMinds, Schafer Autism Report, Talk About Curing Autism, Treating Autism, and Unlocking Autism.

Dr. Edelson, the Director of the Autism Research Institute, has generously provided Autism.org to promote the effort. While I do not speak for the other organization, I think it's fair to say that we all share a deep reverence for Dr. Rimland and indeed owe our existence to his work, dedication and vision. Each of the above organizations shares a common foundation of belief and action. Call it "Autism is Treatable"; "Think Autism. Think Cure"; "Our Children Get Better" or any number of slogans that eschew the unhelpfully silent patter of mainstream think, and directly talk about recovery.

With over 75 years of combined public service focused on saving children, the Collaboration is the best resource for the most up-to-date information regarding treatments, therapies, research, education, family matters, and other valuable information.

Lastly - Dr. Andrew Wakefield trial is STILL underway in the United Kingdom. This man has done much for our community and great sacrifices for our kids. He needs to here from families and we need to show our support. Please don't forget to write him a note of gratitude for his hard work at: www.AutismWebsite.com/DrAndrewWakefield

Thanks for your patience while we grow. We will be doing our best to accommodate the need. Running TACA not only takes a lot coffee and heart. It takes a village. And our village is growing. God Bless you all.