Ontario girl with autism making 'fantastic' progress after deep brain stimulation treatment

An Ontario father says his daughter with autism spectrum disorder is making "fantastic" progress two years after starting a world-first treatment involving sending electrical signals to her brain.

Nine-year-old Ellie Tomljanovic of Barrie, Ont. had struggled with severe and dangerous self-harming behaviour. But in December 2020, she became the first patient to enrol in a study to see if deep brain stimulation could help her control her self-harming tendencies-- a therapy that turned out to be a resounding success.

"I can't put into words what it's like for us just knowing that she knows what's going on," father Jason Tomljanovic said in an interview with CTV's Your Morning on Friday. "It's just incredible seeing how much she's improved over the past six months.

Tomljanovic said one of the biggest changes is her ability to express her emotions as well as communicating with her parents.

"So much has changed for us. She lets us know now what she needs. Like, if she's hungry, she'll come into the kitchen … she'll open up the fridge and she'll pick the fruit she wants or muffins --- her favourite. It's just unreal," he said.

Ellie's parents used to spend up to 10 hours a day trying to stop her from injuring herself, holding her down and even turning to sedatives and anti-psychotics. Now, they're able to spend time hiking and swimming with their daughter.

"We're able to take her out on hikes. We've got a swimming pool this year for Ellie and she's been out there all summer long. She loves going to the pool and it's just opened up our lives and more things that she can do and that we can do," Tomljanovic said.

The treatment works by sending a small electrical current to override the circuits or regions in the brain that doctors think aren't working properly. Doctors had to implant two electrodes into her brain, connected to wires under the skin to a battery. In October, her battery was replaced with a rechargeable one that attaches to a custom vest made by a local seamstress.

"That was a little bit of work in progress," said Tomljanovic. "It took about a month or so just to get her used to putting on the vest. But now, every day, she has no problems putting it on. She knows what time that it has to go on and it's been working fantastic."

In the year ahead, Tomljanovic says he's most looking forward to going back to the pool with Ellie as the weather gets warmer.

"You see her smile and jump around and it's just unreal how much she loves water, and I'm looking forward to that."

Watch the full interview with Jason Tomljanovic at the top of this article.

With files from CTV National News Medical Correspondent Avis Favaro