Paul Scholes has been flooded with support after sharing an emotional video of himself teaching his son. Last month, Ms Scholes revealed she had quit her job as a live TV broadcaster to accommodate her son Aiden, who has autism. The 50-year-old made it clear he couldn’t break the routine they share, which sees him look after his ex-wife Claire and 20-year-old Aiden three nights a week separately, with Claire’s mother taking over the remaining nights.
“Everything I’m going to do is going to work around him,” he said during an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast. “I work in the studio and everything is built around his day. Last season we used to play Manchester United’s Europa League on Thursday nights.
“That night was the night I usually had him, so he was very excited and was biting and scratching. He knew that pattern wasn’t going to emerge right away.”
Mr Scholes initially kept his son’s diagnosis a secret during his playing career, but earlier this month he confessed how surprised he was by the reaction to his announcement.
“I was really surprised by the reaction. I actually don’t know how it happened,” he said. “I thought we were just going to go in there and talk about football, but we ended up talking about Aiden for 20 or 30 minutes.
“When this episode came out, I even forgot what I was actually saying, but the reaction to it was incredible.”
Now, Scholes is gaining even more support by posting a video of himself interacting with Aiden on Instagram, encouraging him to identify different animals and colors.
The former United midfielder wrote next to the video: “Always learning smart son.”
In response, Paddy McGuinness commented: “Beautiful to see,” and a fan wrote: “What a blessing to be open about this part of your life. Thank you for bringing hope, creating awareness and showing our children that they can live a quality life no matter what.”
Another said: “Yes Aidan!!! You have no idea how much these videos help people. You are amazing Paul.”
Meanwhile, a touching message read: “Paul, thank you for what you’re doing and for sharing this journey with us. Our journey with a non-verbal son has just begun and you’ll never understand how much it’s helping us all.”
Scholes retired in 2013, and his daughter Alicia wrote a touching tribute to her father after appearing on Stick to Football.
She wrote on Instagram: “God knows how hard that episode was!!!!!!!!!!! We love you so much.
“I don’t know anyone who hates talking about themselves as much as you do, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to talk to Aidy about the reality of a very difficult situation.
“Throughout my life, I grew up knowing that your priority was always my father and at the same time how hard you had to work every day, which I can’t even fathom.
“It takes great sacrifice to accomplish all that you have done, but I somehow managed to get you to take me to school every morning and at the end of each day. So be present in every aspect of my life!”
