Jenny McCarthy's Austistic Son Likened Himself To Cartoon Character Dory

Ellen DeGeneres became teary-eyed during an episode of her daytime talk show when comedienne Jenny McCarthy told her about her autistic son.

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McCarthy, 35, told the host she was taken back when one day her 5-year-old son Evan likened himself to "Finding Nemo" character Dory, an animated fish with a short-term memory loss DeGeneres gave voice to.

The former Playmate of the Year said, "Evan has come such a long way. That kid has come such a long way to get to where he is."

"He said, 'Mom, you know I used to be a lot like Dory.' I literally pulled over and looked and turned around and I started crying, because of what he meant."

"He said, 'Dory had a really hard time remembering her words and I couldn't remember them.' We sat on the side of the road for about 15 minutes while I cried. He said, 'I'm not like Dory anymore, I can remember.'"

DeGeneres then told her, "I'm gonna cry right now. That's incredible."

Evan was diagnosed with autism in 2005. McCarthy had told Oprah Winfrey on her show that Evan was developing normally until he received his measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.