Toni Braxton's autistic son makes acting debut in Lifetime movie 'Twist of Faith'

Toni Braxton's 9-year-old son Diezel Braxton-Lewis is making his acting debut alongside his mother in Lifetime's "Twist of Faith." Diezel, who is autistic, was originally set to play the role of Toni's child, but mom decided to put him in a smaller role over fears the production schedule would hamper his schooling.

"Even though he's considered high functioning right now, he wasn't in the past," Braxton tells the Associated Press. "And that's why I thought him carrying the movie, and trying to do the movie and tutoring would have been too much for him." 

She says Diezel was at first disappointed, but is happy with the outcome.

Braxton reveals having a starring role also required a lot more out of her than she expected. "Singing is indigenous for me, but acting is not," Toni says. "It's a lot more technical than I thought."

Toni faces challenges of her own, having been hospitalized recently for complications related to Lupus, an auto-immune disease. "My doctors told me I would never be able to perform again," she says. "I'm very lucky that I'm still able to dabble in it a little bit."

Along with Diezel, Toni has another son, Denim, who is 11-years-old.