Actor, comedian, and host D.L. Hughley is a seriously funny man. There aren’t too many topics he cannot turn into a punchline. The comic does have his serious moments, too, one being whenever he talks about his 26-year-old son Kyle who was diagnosed with Aspergers at a young age. Hughley has confessed that it was not always easy for the father son duo, and he did not always know what to do for the boy.
Back in 2018, during an episode of his radio program, the D.L. Hughley Show, he decided to take advantage of it being Autism Awareness month and discuss his son. D.L. Hughley says he recalls noticing at an early age that his son was having some developmental issues. DL recalls how hard it was to hear his son was autistic, but his family quickly rallied behind the boy to figure out the best plan to support him.
D.L. Hughley was honest about the struggles they faced along the way. He admitted that every day was not easy but that the best thing you can do with a son who is facing struggles is to support them and challenge them. D.L. Hughley says he is so proud of his son’s growth from when he was first diagnosed till now.
The comedian and actor says he felt so guilty when he first got the news of his son’s developmental issues. He believed his son deserved a better father and sometimes still does. Despite this, he felt blessed to be his father and continued to sing the young man’s praises. His child, Kyle, was present in the studio and beamed while hearing his dad talk about him.
In a separate segment from the same interview, Kyle talked about how his learning disability often made his relationship with his father tough because he did not always understand his jokes. Kyle says he thought his father hated him. D.L. Hughley reassured his son and confessed that he was actually ashamed because he felt he made his son ill. When they took Kyle to first get tested for any developmental issues, D.L. Hughley was told that the gene for Autism was passed down from his side of the family.
Sherri Shepherd also has a child with learning disabilities. The current Wendy Williams Show host has a teenage son who is developmentally challenged. She told People Magazine that she stopped asking God why and accepted her son the way he is. She feels God made him perfectly imperfect. Despite his setbacks, her son Jeffery is still a really funny kid who aspires to follow in his mother’s footsteps and be a comedian. Sherri says he enjoys improv classes and making people laugh.
Holly Robinson Peete has easily the most public and famous story of a parent working through Autism. When she and her husband Rodney Peete found out their son RJ was autistic when he was little and it immediately signaled a pivot for the family. Holly and Rodney quickly learned everything they could and began to put money into their organization for autism research. Together they have empowered parents across the globe to get their children tested early and help create a support system for families struggling. They also starred in a reality show where they showed the world how their son Rodney Jr. dealt with his Autism and some of his struggles just wanting to be a regular teenager.
