Paul Scholes has received an outpouring of support after sharing a video of himself teaching his autistic son Aiden. The former Manchester United midfielder posted the clip on Instagram, showing him asking Aiden to identify animals and colours, captioning it: 'Always learning my clever boy.'
Scholes, 50, revealed last month that he had stepped back from punditry to accommodate the needs of his 20-year-old son, who is autistic. He explained on the Stick to Football podcast that he shares a structured care routine with his ex-wife Claire, each looking after Aiden three nights a week, with Claire's mother covering the seventh night.
'Everything I'm going to do now just works around him,' Scholes said. He noted that when his schedule changed, Aiden would become agitated, biting and scratching. Scholes initially kept his son's condition private during his playing career but said he was 'blown away' by the positive response to going public.
The video drew comments from celebrities and fans, including comedian Paddy McGuinness, who wrote 'Beautiful to see'. Other users praised Scholes for raising awareness and helping families on similar journeys. One wrote: '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.'
Scholes' daughter Alicia also shared an emotional message on Instagram after his podcast appearance, saying: 'God knows how hard that episode must've been! We love you so much.' She added: 'My whole life your priority has always been being my dad... to achieve all you did takes so much sacrifice and somehow I still had you to take me to school every morning.'
