A recording artist dad and his 6-year-old son with autism are making beautiful music together. Now their work is being recognized on the industry’s biggest stage. 7’s Heather Walker shines the Spotlight on their journey. In a small recording studio built inside his garage, Chris Redding created music that is deeply personal. Chris Redding, recording artist: “It was me being vulnerable with my relationship with my son and my family.” Chris and his wife Serena have two sons: 3-year-old Cairo and 6-year-old Christian, who is on the autism spectrum. Christian is nonverbal. He communicates with Mom and Dad in other ways. Chris Redding: “He’s using the sign language, like ‘more,’ you know, he’s telling us when he wants to eat. He grabs our hand a lot. He’ll put it on things to say, you know, ‘This is what I want.'” They discovered one of Christian’s favorite things is music. Chris Redding: “And so, you know, as a dad and as a musician, that’s all I needed to know, right? I brought him in the studio; we start creating together.” The result is this father-son collaboration, called “Visions of Sounds De Luxe.” Chris Redding: “You see his eyes, and then you see my eyes parallel together. And I actually took sounds from him, what you call vocal stimming. These are vibrational sounds that people with autism can use to express their emotions. Christian’s voice is in the background of just about almost every song.” The nine-song album is aimed at elevating all voices. Chris Redding: “People on the spectrum can repeat words, right? So, we sort of did that with the chants in the album. And they are words of affirmation.” Chris, Serena and Christian’s voices can all be heard in the song “GREATful.” Chris Redding: “In that song, I talk to him.” Serena Redding: “It’s just about being grateful for what you have, what God has blessed you with. It’s such a beautiful thing, because it was a full family project.” A South Florida family’s project that is being heard by families across the country and world. Chris recently performed in Argentina and at an Autism Speaks event in California. Visions of Sounds is now being recognized on music’s biggest stage. The album is nominated for a Grammy Award, which Chris calls “very humbling”. But he and Serena realize there is something much bigger at play here. Serena Redding: “For us, the most important part is that we get to connect with other families.” Chris Redding: “There was a mom that wrote me, that said she played the album for her nonverbal son in the car, and he started humming the lyrics. And she’s like, ‘I’m freaking out because he never speaks.’ And, you know, hearing stuff like that is like, wow, this is why I do this.” Serena Redding: “Grammy nomination, all that stuff is amazing, but at the end of the day, this is our family, this is our life, this is our real story.” A story about a dad hoping his connection with his son sends a message of musical inclusion that can be heard loud and clear. If you would like to listen to the album, it’s available on Spotify and other music streaming platforms. If you know of a person, place or group that you think we should highlight, email us at [email protected].