Toni Braxton ‘Comes to Terms’ with Son’s Autism Diagnosis
When Toni Braxton’s youngest son Diezel Ky, 5 ½, was diagnosed with autism in 2006, like countless other parents, her emotional response ran the gamut. "You tend to blame yourself," Toni admits in the Oct. 27 issue of PEOPLE, adding that she tortured herself with the question: "Is there something I did wrong?" With guilt comes a certain level of acceptance — and that isn’t always easy to come by, either. "A lot of times, parents are in denial because they want to think their child is perfect," the 41-year-old songstress says. Over time, however, she was able to "come to terms" with the diagnosis and with the help of an applied behavioral analysis (ABA) specialist who works with Diezel both at home and at school, Toni’s family appears to have brighter days ahead.
"A friend of mine told me, ‘Toni, all these autistic kids in the world now, they are God’s new angels, and they are here to show us life differently.’ I’ve been embracing that…He’s a wonderful kid."
Because she had the experience of raising Denim Cole, her 6 ½-year-old son, to draw from, Toni says she knew that Diezel wasn’t developing normally when he refused eye contact and failed to say basic words like "cup" or "juice," or even her name. "As a mom you can tell," says Toni, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit group Autism Speaks. While Diezel continues to exhibit sensory issues, particularly with regard to loud noises, Toni is of the belief that "it’s just that these kids have to be taught differently."
Denim, who is described by his mom as "smart," likes to "Google everything." Smart indeed! He even attempted to leverage Toni’s appearance on Dancing With the Stars — which ended in a surprise elimination earlier this week — to score an iPhone, asking, "How else am I going to vote for Mom?"
Diezel and Denim are Toni’s children with husband Keri Lewis, whom she married in 2001.
 Photo by Andrew Southam for PEOPLE for use on CBB |
Source: PEOPLE
- Posted on Oct 23, 08 at 7:00PM
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- 14 Comments
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I’m very glad to hear Toni speaking out on this subject…I knew that she had a child on the spectrum and have been awaiting what she had to say. Congrats on becoming a spokeswoman for Autism Speaks….GO ABA!!!!!!!
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Such a cute family portrait. I believe that’s Denim with a Mohawk…that’s a lot of hair for a ‘hawk but it’s still cute.
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 pm
What a beautiful family. Her sons are such handsome boys. Congratulations to her for to her courage and strength. I konw that cannot be easy.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
As a mom of four, one with Autism, I applaud Toni for educating others on Austism. As the article says, autistic children truly are “God’s new angel’s.” Keep up the great work for our kids, Toni! You are both supported by and a blessing to other mothers of autistic children.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
I am so happy that Toni has embraced her son’s autism. I also believe that all children are special and they are sent in the world for a purpose. It is up to each of us to find out what that purpose is because for each of us it is a different lesson.
October 24th, 2008 at 2:36 am
She looks great and those kids are so cute. Didn’t know she had kids.
Hope she is better from her incident on DWTS
October 24th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
As a parent of a ten year Autisic son I truley understand what she’s going through, but as time goes on with the grace of God, and the wonderful school he attends, he coming along great. Hang in there Toni, it always get better.
October 24th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
How great is Denim’s hair?!?! Love it.
October 24th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Toni is such a trooper… she has done so much to raise awareness about autism and heart disease… these are close to her heart!
October 24th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I’m really proud of Toni and her husband for speaking about the subject and being so positive. I haven’t seen her kids since the VH1 special on the birth of Diezel- so five years ago. They are absolutely adorable!
October 24th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I used to like her. She did an interview when she went bankrupt and made a comment about how was she to live when she had to buy sheets from Target. Please, now she’s eating humble pie. I lost respect for this “Christian” woman.
October 25th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Being a father of a daughter with autism, I can appreciate the struggles that Toni & her husband as well as Jenny McCarthy & all others face with autistic children face. This story is another example that autistic children are not mentally retarded or stupid & with the right form of occupational – speech therapy these children will have the opportunity to eventually develop to have a bright & healthy future. I know as it has worked for my daughter.
David
October 25th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
toni i love you an i been your bigest fan since i was a child an live in jamaica but now i live in fl and u alwaya bveen my number one fan and u have a wounderfull famaily
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 pm
denim looks really cute