Paul Scholes quits football commentary to care for autistic son

Scholes had kept his son’s diagnosis private for a long time and even revealed once that Alex Ferguson even dropped him from a game when he was trying to handle the situation at home. Scholes now hoped talking about the difficulties and the joyous moments of his son can help other families dealing with a similar situation.

“I never got a break from it, even when playing,” said Scholes. “It was very hard in those days. I don’t think they diagnosed it until he was two-and-a-half years old. But you knew early something was wrong, but then you get the diagnosis, and I’d never heard of it. I remember the first time after we were playing Derby away and I just didn’t want to be there. I remember the manager dropped me the week after actually, and I hadn’t told anyone. I ended up telling them a few weeks later, I think, as it was quite hard,” he said.

The 50-year-old said he isn’t looking for any sympathy, but was more concerned about his son’s future. “Even now, I don’t want sympathy or anything. I just thought, even if I did speak to someone about it, it’s not going to help Aiden. The big concern now is, because you’re getting a bit older, what happens when you’re not here? That’s the thing that’s now on my mind all the time.”