Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has spoken at length about his non-verbal autistic son Aiden and how his condition has shaped his professional life.
Paul Scholes has opened up about his family life, revealing he gave up his commentating career to spend more time with his autistic son. The Manchester United legend has taken a step back from his media duties so he can prioritize Aiden, who has special needs.
Scholes was a United hero, making more than 700 appearances and winning 25 trophies as a midfielder between 1993 and 2013. His extraordinary playing career and one-club status with his boyhood team has made him an authoritative voice at United, but he has nevertheless decided to reduce his workload.
Last season, the 50-year-old was TNT Sport’s regular pundit for United’s coverage of the Europa League. But Scholes realized that his work schedule was having a negative impact on Aiden, 20, whom he saw three times a week.
Scholes, who has Aiden and two other children with ex-wife Claire, explained on the Stick to Football podcast how he balances work with looking after his son.
“He has a very strict routine every day, so all the work I’m doing right now is in line with his routine,” he said. “Since I’m not with Claire anymore, I leave him for three nights at a time, and Claire’s mother leaves him on Friday nights. Claire doesn’t know the day of the week or the time, so we always do the same thing. But he knows what day it is from what we do.”
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“Every Tuesday, I pick him up from daycare and go swimming. (He) loves swimming, so we go get pizza on the way home. On Thursday, (I) pick him up, go get something to eat, and go home. On Sunday, I pick him up at Claire’s house. He goes to Tesco, where he buys a trolley full of chocolates. So he doesn’t know what day it is or what time it is, but he knows what day it is because of what we’re doing. He’s turning 21. December.
Ms Scholes said she was encouraged to share Aiden’s story after posting about Aiden on Instagram and receiving positive feedback from other parents about their children with autism.
“Well, he’s nonverbal so he can’t talk,” he said. “They say he can’t talk, but I think he understands more than we realize. He has sounds, but only those closest to him can understand what he’s saying. He’s autistic, but it’s like really severe autism, because he can have it and go to school normally.
“I did it once or twice[to share on social media]but I only showed the good parts. There were definitely some bad parts. And it was the response he got from people, the parents, a lot of people were like, ‘That’s great, I have a kid like this,’ and things like that. So I kept doing it.”
She added: “I reply to people on Instagram. It’s hard, especially when you’re young, because you can be harmed or attacked, so I only wear nice things. I’m thinking of wearing it when he might bite or scratch me, or when I’m not in a great mood. But I don’t think that’s probably the right thing to do.”
Scholes once attended United training sessions with scratches and bite marks. Aiden was diagnosed with autism when he was two-and-a-half years old, and the midfielder initially did not tell his team-mates or manager Sir Alex Ferguson what was happening at home, even though it was affecting his performance.
“We didn’t know what was in store for us,” he said of the diagnosis. “Some children don’t speak at the age of 18 months or 2, but by the time they’re 5 or 6 years old, they’re fully communicative, which is what we call late development. But we knew it wasn’t going to happen that way.
“I haven’t talked to anyone at the club about this. I still don’t want any pity. Even if I did talk to someone about it, I didn’t think it would help Aiden. I don’t know what would help.”
“My biggest worry now is, now that you’re getting a little older, what happens when you’re no longer here? That’s what’s on my mind all the time right now. Sometimes it’s not on my mind. It’s like anything, but sometimes, like right now, when you actually start talking about it, it’s on your mind.”
This week’s Stick to Football podcast with Paul Scholes is now available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms
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