AUTISM IS GETTING MORE COMMON AS MORE MEN HAVE CHILDREN PAST 33

BRAXTON LEFT REELING BY SON'S AUTISM






TONI BRAXTON discovered her youngest son DIEZEL was autistic when officials at the four-year-old's school in Las Vegas alerted the soul singer to the extent of his learning difficulties. The UNBREAK MY HEART singer felt sure something was wrong when Diezel failed to progress like his older brother, DENIM, but doctors simply assured her the tot was a slow learner with a possible hearing problem. Braxton put her son in speech therapy classes, but had no idea he was autistic until the dean of his private school asked to speak to her late last year (06), shortly after she had begun her residency at Vegas' Flamingo hotel and casino complex. She recalls, "The dean called and said, 'You need to come pick him up, he's not ready for this school.' "I didn't know what to think... They gave us a card and said, 'Call (disability organisation) Child Find in Vegas,' and we called them and they are the one that diagnosed him being autistic."
Singer Toni Braxton opens up about her family life. Toni is married to Keri Lewis They have two sons Demin Cole, 4 1/2 & Diezel Ky, 3 1/2. Toni speaks out about her everday challenges of being a mother, and getting her son Diezel diagnosed with autism. Braxton had a hard time getting the doctors to diagnose her son, and feels the three year old could have been helped if the neurological disorder was spotted earlier. Toni is upset with the Doctors, stating "They dismissed me. I don't know if it would have made a difference or not to be diagnosed earlier, but they had a "wait and see" attitude. It makes me so angry because a mother knows when something is wrong with her child."