Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has been overwhelmed by messages of support from fans and fellow celebrities after posting a touching video of him teaching his autistic son, Aiden.
A Heartwarming Family Update
The 50-year-old football legend shared a clip on his Instagram account showing a tender moment where he was engaged in a learning session with his 20-year-old son. In the video, Scholes can be heard asking Aiden to identify different animals and colours, captioning the post, "Always learning my clever boy."
This public glimpse into their life comes just a month after Scholes made the deeply personal revelation on the Stick to Football podcast that he had stepped back from his regular punditry duties to better accommodate his son's needs.
Prioritising Family and Routine
Scholes explained that he and his ex-wife, Claire, maintain a carefully structured co-parenting routine for Aiden, which sees each of them care for him for three nights a week, with Claire's mother looking after him on the seventh night. "Everything I'm going to do now just works around him," Scholes stated during the podcast appearance.
He detailed how his previous work commitment, covering Thursday night Europa League matches for Manchester United, directly clashed with his scheduled night with Aiden, causing his son significant distress. "He knows the pattern's not there straight away," Scholes said, describing how the disruption led to Aiden becoming "agitated, biting and scratching."
An Overwhelming Public Response
The former midfielder, who retired from playing in 2013, had initially kept his son's condition private throughout his illustrious career. He confessed to being "blown away by the reaction" after opening up about his family life on the podcast.
"I was just going there, and I thought it was just to talk about football, and we ended up talking about Aiden for 20 or 30 minutes," Scholes recalled. "When the episode came out, I'd even forgot what I was really talking about, but the reaction to it was incredible."
The latest Instagram video prompted another flood of supportive comments. Television presenter Paddy McGuinness wrote, "Beautiful to see", while another user highlighted the impact of his openness: "How amazing by opening up about this part of your life brings hope, creates awareness and shows our children can live a full quality life."
One particularly moving response came from a parent in a similar situation: "Thank you Paul for what you're doing and sharing this journey. Just starting my journey with my non verbal son and you will never understand how much it's helping us all."
The family support for Scholes was also evident when his daughter, Alicia, penned an emotional tribute to her father on Instagram after his podcast appearance. She praised his lifelong dedication, writing, "My whole life your priority has always been being my dad and growing up realising how hard you had to work everyday alongside that is something I can't even comprehend."
