The family of a 13-year-old Canadian girl with autism who learned to communicate through her laptop has been overwhelmed by the public response to her story -- and insists she is doing it without any help.

Carly Fleischmann is unable to verbally communicate, but since finding a way to "talk" by typing messages on a computer, she has been providing long-sought-after insight into what it feels like to have autism. She said it feels like "being in a room with the stereo on full blast" or like her legs are on fire and she is covered with ants.

CTV News first aired the story of Carly on Sunday. The Toronto family's story was picked up Tuesday night on ABC News in the United States. Since then, people living with the condition and media outlets around the world have taken notice of what Carly's story could indicate for the future of autism treatment.

"Thank you Carly for being so brave and letting us read some of your thoughts!!!" wrote one woman named Gretchen, one of many to email CTV in response to Carly's amazing breakthrough. "I have a 2 1/2 year old autistic daughter but she is verbal. She still can't tell us what is wrong or how she is feeling. I love this story!! As a mom it gave me a better insight to this disorder!"

"This girl and what she has to say absolutely breaks my heart," said another reader named "T". "I can understand how she feels, not because I have an autistic child, but I can feel from her writing how she desperately wants just to be like everybody else, but can't."

"As a mother of an autistic child myself, my hope is that some of our political leaders will see stories like this one and be moved to take meaningful action to ensure that all children with autism have access to the services they need to reach their full potential," wrote a mother named Laura.

Carly's father, Arthur, says his daughter has been touched by the reponse.

"Most of the comments have been about how inspirational Carly was, the kind of hope that she gives to families with children with autism, and that really hit an emotional chord with us," he said Wednesday evening.

"This kind of reaction was so inspiring to Carly, it's given her an incredible confidence boost. One of the key issues that people with disabilities have, I think, is one of self-esteem, and understanding what their role in society is. And hearing what an inspiration she is to others has made her feel incredibly good about herself."

Arthur adds that the response is further inspiring her to want to help others with autism.

"I hope this is a watershed event for her," he says. "She's clearly a highly intelligent and creative person. And so much of her life has been defined by her disability that I think that this type of event helps her to find what her potential is, and her ability to advocate for others like herself."

Alongside the well-wishers, there have been a handful of those who are skeptical about Carly's achievements, some wondering if Carly is being cued -- either consciously or unconsciously -- about what to write.

Carly's mother Tammy says that is simply not the case. She says Carly often writes email by herself, with no one else in the room, and when there is someone there to help here, they are there primarily to help Carly focus, not to tell her what to say.

Tammy says she knows that Carly is not simply repeating phrases she's been taught because Carly has demonstrated she's learning things on her own.

"My daughter knows about all kinds of things we have not told her about and she writes spontaneously about them," Tammy wrote, responding to a comment left by a viewer on ABC's website. "For instance, we told her we were taking her to New York to see a doctor there and she wrote she wanted to see Ground Zero and the lady with the torch. We had no idea she knew these things.

"I have no incentive for making this up or embellishing her accomplishments and neither do the huge team of doctors and other professionals who have seen Carly over the years."

Dr. Wendy Roberts, a developmental paediatrician at the Autism Research Unit at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, has reviewed Carly's writings and watched video of her and says she is convinced that Carly is not being coached in her writings.

"She has documented receptive language skills consistent with what she writes. No one is touching her or giving eye signals (about which) letters to choose," she says.

Experts in the specialized form of autism therapy Carly has undergone, called Applied Behaviour Analysis, say they're not sure whether her unusual language abilities make her a rare case or whether her new writing skills are the result of her intensive training.

But as people touched by her story from around the world can attest, Carly Fleischmann has at the very least provided a window of hope for thousands who want to know what living with autism is really like.

CTV.ca readers with questions for Carly can send them to health@ctv.ca. She will do her best to respond later this week to some of them and we will post her comments.

• Read Carly's writing