United hero’s fears over autistic son...
PAUL Scholes has revealed how he hid his son’s autistic diagnosis from Manchester United after fearing “he might have to go into care”.
The ex-England midfielder admitted his struggles in the new BBC documentary ‘Paddy And Christine McGuiness: Our Family And Autism.’
He recalls receiving the diagnosis ahead of a United match but hid it from everyone despite missing an open goal with a ‘terrible performance’ – he was dropped for the next game, as reported by The Sun.
The father-of-three and his wife of 22 years, Claire Froggat, knew there was ‘something wrong’ with their son before doctors referred him to specialists. But they have accepted that Aiden, 16, will likely be unable to talk or live independently. Still, they celebrate every achievement of their ‘amazing, happy boy.’
Paul said: “We took him to a place in Oldham and that was the first time I thought of autism as it had signs around about the things autistic children tend to do.
“We got the diagnosis when we were playing Derby away and I was shocking. I was terrible. I didn’t want to be there. My head was gone.
“The next game the manager pulled me in and said, ‘I’m leaving you out tonight.’.. I didn’t play very well. I didn’t tell anyone, I just kept it in.”
Paul felt isolated by the ‘very macho world of football’ which made him unable to speak about his personal issues. He also spoke about the challenges the family had in looking after Aiden.
Paul added: “He was punching, kicking, screaming and I’ve never said this before but I’m looking at him thinking, ‘He might have to go into care, I just don’t know how do you handle that?’
“Look we had some terrible, terrible times but as he is now, he’s amazing. He’s a happy boy.”